Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Worms With Teeth Eat Couple Alive

An Australian couple suffered muscle pain, fevers, vomiting and their skin began to look like orange peel after their bodies became infested with tiny razor-toothed worms. The unnamed 52-year-old man and his 50-year-old wife became infected with the little buggers after eating fish (believed to be a black bream) while on a camping trip in Western Australia.
Alfred hospital infectious disease physician Andrew Fuller said that when the couple ate the fish, believed to be a black bream, they also ingested the gnathostomiasis larvae. "The worms are 1-3mm long and have got these sharp little teeth and they can go anywhere they like in the body," Dr Fuller said. The worm works its way around the human body until it dies or is killed by the immune system. "They move under the skin and cause itchy lumps that can make you feel sick - and it can be very hard to diagnose."...The worms can stay in a human for 15 years, leaving people chronically ill. They can make their way into the brain, other organs and the spinal cord. "They eat your tissues," Dr Fuller said.
source
The couple was treated with antibiotics and released from the hospital.

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