Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

A man who suffered continual seizures for 30 years has been cured after doctors found a wriggling four-inch tapeworm – pictured here – inside his brain.

The 59-year-old patient named as Mr Zhang said the episodes were so frequent he was having a seizure once every 20 days.

The native of Jiangxi Province, which is in East China, was treated recently at the Guangdong 999 Brain Hospital in Guangzhou, capital city of southern Guangdong Province.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

He recalled: “I’d been having seizures since 1989. My entire left side would spasm and I would suffer migraines and dizziness.

“I was diagnosed with epilepsy, but it was never clear what exactly was triggering the symptoms.”

A breakthrough came in mid-July when neurosurgeons Wu Jie and Yan Xueqiang ordered fresh scans which showed a shadow inside his brain.

Tests confirmed suspicions that Mr Zhang was suffering from an infection of the tapeworm Spirometra erinaceieuropaei – known to commonly affect animals and humans.

The medics performed a craniotomy on Mr Zhang, removing part of his skull and extracting the live tapeworm which measured some 10 centimetres (four inches) in length.

They also removed some of Mr Zhang’s brain tissue.

Doctor Yan said: “The parasite we removed was 10 centimetres (four inches) long. It may have been living there for 30 years.

“It’s possible to ingest tapeworm larvae by accident when drinking uncooked river water, or when eating uncooked foods such as frogs or snakes which could be infested with eggs or larvae.”

Mr Zhang said his living conditions ticked both boxes.

He is expected to make a full recovery following the surgery on his brain.

Doctor Wu warned that tapeworms in the head not only cause damage to the brain by the waste matter they produce, hosts also risk irreparable harm to the organ as the worm continuously swims around.

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