Where are Warrigal Greens found? Live worm found in woman's brain in shocking first

The discovery of a living parasitic roundworm inside the brain of a 64-year-old Australian woman after she harvested Warrigal greens marks the first instance of the infection in humans.

Doctors and researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) and Canberra Hospital made the discovery after finding out a live 8 cm roundworm in the woman's brain. After surgery, the roundworm was extracted from the woman, and it was still alive and squirming.

As per Australian Geographic, the woman from southern New South Wales most likely caught the roundworm while harvesting Warrigal greens beside a lake near her house, where the parasite was excreted by a carpet python.

Warrigal greens are a type of plant with huge triangular light green leaves and little yellow flowers. It can be found in countries like South America and Japan. Still, it is assumed to be native to New Zealand and Australia, where it grows primarily along the eastern coastline and in estuaries.

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The Australian woman caught the live worm while working with Warrigal Greens

The worm was finally taken out (Image via Australian National University)

On August 28, an 8 cm (3.15 inches) worm was discovered living in an Australian lady's brain. The Canberra Hospital and the Australian National University revealed information about the terrible case.

The roundworm, whose natural host is a carpet python, was retrieved alive and wiggling from the patient after brain surgery. According to Australian Geographic, the 64-year-old woman had stomach pain, diarrhea, cough, and fever since January 2021, which had progressed to forgetfulness and depression.

When asked by Australian Geographic, Karina Kennedy, the Associate Professor at the ANU Medical School, said:

“In retrospect, these symptoms were likely due to migration of roundworm larvae from the bowel and into other organs, such as the liver and the lungs".

Doctors feared that the worm's larvae were also present in the woman's organs, like the lungs and liver, and were affecting them. They believed the parasite could have been alive in her brain for months.

The woman, who resided near a lake in New South Wales's south-eastern region, is doing well now. Her case is thought to be the first occurrence of a larva invasion in the human brain, according to researchers who published the case in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

"This is the first-ever human case of Ophidascaris to be described in the world," Sanjaya Senanayake, infectious disease expert and co-author of the study, told Australian Geographic.

"To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise," he added.

Australian Geographic reported that according to the scientists, the woman most likely caught the roundworm while gathering Warrigal greens, a variety of native grass near where she resided. Carpet pythons also live in the area. She dealt with the Warrigal greens and was most likely infected by the parasite through direct contact with the native grass.

Warrigal greens may be found along Australia's coastline, where it thrives best in saline soil. They are versatile, easy-to-grow vegetables with a fresh, grassy flavor and a somewhat bitter finish.

These are the Australian equivalent of English spinach. Since the early days of European colonization in Australia, these bush tucker greens have been utilized as a spinach alternative. Furthermore, this plant is native to Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and Japan.