Woman Suffers Organ Damage From Parasitic Worm That Lays Eggs In Her Stomach… In Case Similar To RFK Jr’s ‘Brain Worm’

A 33-year-old woman suffered a fatal liver rupture after a worm laid eggs in her abdomen.

The farmer, from Tunisia, was infected with a parasite similar to the one that is believed to have damaged the brain of US presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has infected.

Her case was revealed this week in a US medical journal by doctors seeking to raise awareness of the infection called a silent killer.

The alarming symptoms that prompted the woman to visit the emergency room were severe stomach cramps, fever and yellowing of her eyes and skin, which lasted for three days.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in 2012 that he suffered from short-term memory loss and brain fog after a worm ate part of his brain and subsequently died

Blood tests showed that inflammatory markers called C-reactive proteins were more than 20 times normal levels, indicating possible liver damage.

Doctors discovered that a cyst in her bile duct, which carries fluids to and from the liver, had ruptured.

It later turned out that the organ damage was caused by a gruesome growth called Echinococcus granulosus, a tapeworm of two to seven millimeters.

The nasty parasite causes the potentially fatal infection, Hydatid disease, also known as cystic echinococcosis.

The worms usually live in animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, pigs and dogs. They usually infect people in poor rural countries who work with livestock, which could explain how the patient, a farmer, came into contact with the worm.

It is unclear when the patient became infected, although it may take several years for symptoms to appear.

Between two and three million people become infected with Hydatid disease – and up to 90 percent of patients can die within ten to fifteen years of infection if left untreated.

Two days after being admitted to the hospital, doctors performed surgery to remove the cyst and drain excess bile.

The patient spent 15 days in the hospital receiving fluids and antibiotics before being discharged.

She was also given three courses of antibiotics to take home and had no problems after six months of follow-up.

Although the disease is rare in North America, the doctors who treated the Tunisian patient warned that Hydatid disease “poses a significant public health problem” in rural areas of Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Central and South -America.

The case is similar to that of RFK Jr, who suffered short-term memory loss and brain fog in 2010, according to a recent study. New York Times investigation.

The presidential candidate, now 70, feared he had cancer, but scans showed a dead parasite had eaten part of his brain.

RFK Jr has not confirmed which parasite he had, although some experts suggest he had neurocysticercosis, which is caused by the pork tapeworm Taenia solium.

The condition puts about 2,000 Americans in the hospital.

He said he likely came into contact with the worm during a trip to South America.

The Tunisian case was published in the American Journal of Case Reports.