A woman felt something weird at her feet, and the doctors were puzzled by what they found in her column

When a 35-year-old woman arrived at a hospital in France, he told doctors that he had the impression that electric shocks were going through his feet. In addition, he felt weak and fell several times. Unusual symptoms were surprising: larvae of parasitic worms that "settled" in the backbone, according to an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 11.

The woman did not leave France recently and was in contact with livestock. In addition to the symptoms already mentioned, the woman said she was having trouble driving in the past three months, writes Live Science.

An MRI scan revealed lesions of the spine at T9 (the new thoracic vertebra) somewhere in the middle, according to the doctors of University Hospital of Dijon who treated it.

The woman needed surgery to remove the lesion, and tests revealed that it was caused by an infection in Echinococcus granulosus a small worm found in dogs and other livestock such as sheep, cattle, goats and pigs

The worm causes a disease called cystic echinococcosis, where larvae form a cyst that grows in the body. They usually appear in the liver or lungs, but can also appear in other parts of the body, including the bones and the central nervous system. However, bone infections, including the spine, are rare, being only 0.5-4% of cases.

The worm's life cycle is somewhat complex. The adult form of the worm lives in the dog's intestines and can reach 6 millimeters. Eggs are found in the excrement of dogs and other livestock are infected when they eat food or water contaminated with these eggs. Once the eggs arrive in the body, they become larvae, but can not grow to the adult state unless they return to the dog, which happens when they consume meat from the animals

Similarly, humans can become infected if they consume contaminated products. of dog feces. However, people are considered accidental hosts because they are not involved in the transmission of disease to dogs (in rare cases, a dog reaches human flesh) and worms do not reach adults at home. humans.

The woman was treated with parasitic drugs. After nine months, there were no symptoms of infection or signs of return of infection

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