A 35-year-old woman was living with a worm in the vertebrae

This is an extremely rare case. A 35-year-old woman who was suffering from hydatidosis, a disease caused by the accidental ingestion of parasite eggs, was operated successfully in Dijon (Côte-d'Or), reports
The New England Journal of Medicine . A flat worm (tapeworm) had lodged in one of its vertebrae and compressed its spinal cord.

The young woman had been admitted to the emergency department last fall in Côte-d'Or, after intense pain in the back, explained the head of the infectious diseases department of the University Hospital of Dijon in an article published by the British magazine. She felt "electric shocks" in her legs and had difficulty riding horses for almost three months.

"She was at risk of quadriplegia"

After several exams, the doctors realized that the patient housed, in the 9th vertebra of her back … a tapeworm. A rare disease caused by the accidental ingestion of parasite eggs, either on contact
animals (dogs, cattle …), or by ingesting food soiled by droppings. Once ingested, these eggs turn into a flatworm.

The larva that infected the patient moved through her body via the blood vessels. The tapeworm ended up staying at an extremely rare place, the 9th vertebra of his back. "The parasite was wrong way … The worm began to tickle the spinal cord, that's why she felt these pains. If nothing had been done, she probably risked quadriplegia, "said the head of the infectious diseases department at the University Hospital of Dijon.

A disease spread in the tropics

The young woman underwent a complex operation . Nine months later, the patient has no sequelae. Fortunately, no other worm had settled in his body.

This disease, widespread in the tropics, is very rare in France. "It's a disease that exists in France, that we know, that we treat. Most of the time, people from endemic areas, abroad, are affected. People do not have to worry, "said Professor Lionel Piroth
Ouest-France .