In Australia, one of the most unexpected incidents occurred and took the entire population by surprise. A neurosurgeon, who was investigating a woman’s mysterious symptoms, revealed she was removing worms from a patient’s brain, according to a publication on the portal Aire Digital.

Surgeon Hari Priya Bandi was performing a brain biopsy on the 64-year-old patient when she used tweezers to remove an 8-centimeter parasite that was still alive. “I thought, ‘What is this? It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s alive and moving,'” Bandi told The Canberra Times.

He kept moving excitedly. We all feel a bit disgusted,” Bandi added of his operating team. The creature is the larva of a native Australian roundworm named Ophidascaris robertsi which until now has not been known to be a parasite in humans. These worms are common in carpet pythons.

The woman was hospitalized after three months of forgetfulness and depression. Scans showed changes in his brain. But a year earlier, he had been admitted to a local hospital with stomach pains and diarrhea, followed by fever, cough, night sweats and shortness of breath.

Senanayake, a co-author of a paper on the extraordinary event, said a brain biopsy would hopefully reveal cancer or an abscess. “This patient has been treated for a mysterious illness that we ultimately assume is an immunological condition.” “Out of nowhere, this huge lump appeared at the front of his brain,” said Senanayake.

According to the journal article, six months after the worms were removed, his neuropsychiatric symptoms improved but persisted. “He’s fine, but because it’s a new infection we’re monitoring him closely,” Senanayake told Ten Network television.