FRANCE — A woman in France felt a tingling sensation in her legs, which turned out to be a parasitic tapeworm in her spine.
The case was documented in a report from the New English Journal of Medicine.
Doctors who conducted an MRI scan on the woman found parasitic tapeworm larvae in her spine.
Parasitic tapeworms are typically found in farm animals such as sheep, cattle, goats, etc.
The woman admitted she had a pet cat and "had been in contact with cattle."
Tapeworm may lead to echinococcosis, which causes cysts to grow in the lungs and liver among other organs. If the cysts bursts, it can be deadly.
Doctors ran a series of other tests as well and found the woman's white blood cell count had increased to around 19,000. Normal white blood cell counts range between 4,500 to 11,000, according to Medlineplus.gov.
The woman was placed on anti-parasitic medication, and was clear of her infection with no symptoms of any recurrence after nine months, the New York Post reported.
