Man has been suffering from a severely swollen penis for 17 years due to a silent infection with worms
A man who suffered in silence from deeply embarrassing symptoms has finally recovered after a shock diagnosis.
The 72-year-old lived for 17 years with a severely swollen penis that always made the organ appear partially erect, as well as a swollen scrotum and left leg.
The unnamed patient was found to be infected with hordes of live, microscopic worms that caused chronic inflammation around his groin.
He lived in Switzerland but had moved 20 years earlier from Zimbabwe, where the infection is more common.
A man in Switzerland lived for 17 years with a severely swollen penis due to parasitic worms (stock image)
The man was given antiparasitic medications and within two months of discontinuing the medications, his symptoms completely resolved.
The story was revealed in a case report in the New England Journal of Medicine by doctors from the Basel University Hospital in Switzerland.
They said that when the patient came to them, his inflammation levels were twice normal, indicating a serious infection.
An antibody test came back positive for Wuchereria bancrofti, which are microscopic, thread-like worms.
Infections are caused by mosquito bites, which transmit the larvae into the bloodstream.
Once they hatch, they travel to the lymphatic system – a circulatory system used to drain fluid. This carries them to other parts of the body, including the scrotum.
They then mature, mate and produce millions of offspring.
The Zimbabwean patient was prescribed diethylcarbamazine and a single dose of albendazole – two powerful antiparasitic drugs that kill the worms.
After two months of completing his medication, he was symptom free and negative for the parasites.
Infections with the parasitic worm are relatively common in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of Africa, Asia and South America. They have no presence in the US or UK.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people must be bitten repeatedly by infected mosquitoes over several months to become infected.
The body added: ‘Short-term tourists are at very low risk.
‘(But) people who live for long periods in tropical or subtropical areas where the disease is common are at greatest risk of infection.’
Normally the worms do not cause any symptoms.
But in some cases, damage to the lymphatic system causes fluid to build up in the legs, causing lymphedema. In cases where there is gross swelling of the limbs, patients are diagnosed with elephantiasis.
In men, the parasitic worms can also cause swelling in the genital area.
The swelling can become so severe that it leads to deformities and mobility problems for patients.
There are an estimated 100 million active infections worldwide, with most infected individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa.