Carpet-Python Worm Found Alive in Woman’s Brain: First Known Human Case
A 64-year-old Australian woman with months of lung disease and cognitive decline underwent brain surgery when imaging revealed a lesion. Surgeons removed a living 80 mm worm from her right frontal lobe, identified as Ophidascaris robertsi, a parasite native to carpet pythons. This marked the first documented human brain infection by the parasite, likely from larval migration facilitated by immunosuppression. Post-surgery, she received antiparasitic treatment and steroids; neuropsychiatric symptoms improved but some deficits persisted, and there have been no further human Ophidascaris infections reported since.