3 Inch Worm Removed from Caraviello's Brain

 

Caraviello's Brain, a deformed piece of silly putty located under  his tongue, which is why he cannot speak well, was found to have a 3" tapeworm removed by Dr. David Skerry...with a crowbar.

And a pair of ordinary scissors.  

https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/29/australia/australia-parasitic-worm-brain-scn-intl-hnk/index.html

“We were able to send the live wiggling worm to him, and he was able to look at it and immediately identify it,” Senanayake said.

Molecular tests confirmed it was Ophidascaris robertsi, a roundworm usually found in pythons, according to a press release from the Australian National University and the Canberra Hospital.

“To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise,” said Senanayake, who is also a professor at Australian National University.

Researchers say the patient lived near a lake area inhabited by carpet pythons in southeastern New South Wales. Although she did not have direct contact with the reptiles, it’s likely she caught the roundworm after foraging Warrigal greens, a native leafy vegetable, which she cooked and ate.

 
The doctors and scientists involved in her case theorized that a carpet python might have spread the parasite via its feces into the greens, which the patient then touched and cross-contaminated with food or other cooking utensils.