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It was while analyzing the testicle of a young man by ultrasound following pain that doctors discovered worms dancing in his scrotum. An impressive video and an infection commonly known as elephantiasis.
Here is a young man who must have been very surprised (like his doctors) by his latest medical misadventure. In New Delhi, India, a 26-year-old man decides to consult for severe pain felt in his right testicle. Supported, he undergoes as it should be an ultrasound. If the examination is not unusual, the result on the other hand really surprised the doctors.
Live worms in his scrotum
As related by Daily mailthe doctors are then seized: in the image they observe “linear structures move” in the young man’s scrotum. Movements described as a dance. To find out what’s going on, the professionals then puncture some liquid to examine it more closely under a microscope, and discover those responsible for this image: a horde of living worms, scientifically named Wuchereria bancrofti.
The patient suffered from lymphatic filariasis and was therefore prescribed an antiparasitic treatment with diethylcarbamazine for three weeks. A treatment that put an end to this “dance”: a second ultrasound revealed that the worms had indeed disappeared.
Infections caused by mosquitoes
Lymphatic filariasis is a tropical disease, commonly known as elephantiasis. As in malaria, the parasites are transmitted by mosquito bites, transferred into the bloodstream, and then move towards the lymphatic system, whose functions they alter. They have a longevity of about 6 to 8 years and during their lifetime produce millions of microfilariae (immature larvae) which circulate in the blood.
The infection process is described by the World Health Organization: “Mosquitoes are infested with microfilariae when they bite an infected host and ingest their blood. The microfilariae develop inside the mosquito until they become infective larvae. When a new person is bitten by the infected mosquito, the mature larvae of the parasite are deposited on their skin and can then enter their body. The larvae then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they mature, thus perpetuating the cycle of transmission“.
In a dedicated page, the WHO (World Health Organization) reminds us that lymphatic filariasis can lead to an abnormal increase in the volume of certain parts of the body, including the scrotum, giving rise to pain and sometimes even to severe disability. .
Globally, the WHO indicates that 863 million people in 47 countries are at risk of lymphatic filariasis, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions, Africa, Asia and South America.