A live five-inch worm was taken out of a Chinese man’s brain after the parasite had been living inside his body for 17 years.
The 23-year-old said he started suffering numbness in his hands and feet since the age of six. He finally went to a hospital after losing sensation in the right half of his upper body. Doctors suggested the patient’s infection was a result of drinking contaminated water and consuming raw or half-cooked exotic meat, such as frogs or snakes.
The Chinese man, known by his surname Chen, is slowly recovering after doctors successfully removed the live worm, which measured about 12 centimetres.
‘The parasite would ‘eat’ the brain and damage its function, which causes numbness in hands and feet or affect one’s intellect. When Mr Chen was first diagnosed at the age of 18, the surgeons had decided to delay the removal surgery because the location of the parasite was not suitable for operation.
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