Doctors found a live python parasite in a woman’s brain

The worm, Ophidascaris robertsi, is not the only type of worm that can infect human brains

A photo of a living brain worm in a specimen jar.

A neurosurgeon pulled this living worm from an Australian woman’s brain. It was a python parasite that had never before been found in people.

Canberra Health Services

The woman’s mysterious symptoms started in her stomach.

Weeks of abdominal pain and diarrhea led to night sweats and a dry cough. Then, doctors found lesions on her lungs, liver and spleen.