Woman's brain worm infection confirmed after eggs grow tails in lab test
Out of nowhere, a woman's right arm and leg started shaking uncontrollably.
In the moments leading up to the experience, she seemed well; she had no headache, confusion, or weakness.
But for about a minute, half of her body juddered.
The woman, a rice farmer in the Philippines, headed to the emergency department.
There, doctors gave her a physical exam and found nothing out of the ordinary.
Then they took a look at her brain.
Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a bright cluster of nodules surrounded by fluid in her left frontal lobe.
The doctors had an immediate guess as to what they were: worm eggs.
An MRI of the woman's brain showing nodules.
Credit: NEJM, 2026 In a case report published in the latest issue of the New England Journal of Medicine , doctors write that they suspected the woman had neuroschistosomiasis, an uncommon complication of an infection with a Schistosoma parasitic worm, aka a blood fluke.
In the Philippines, the most common fluke is S. japonicum .
It's also found in China and part of Indonesia; despite its name, it has been eliminated from Japan.
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