Man Spotted With Worms Crawling Under Skin In Rare Condition In Spain, Gets Hospitalized

One man from Spain encountered a rare health problem. When he arrived at the hospital, doctors spotted worms crawling under his skin.

A sewer worker from Spain suffered from a roundworm infection. However, his condition was severe as larvae were crawling under his skin. The 64-year-old's condition was identified to be a rare "hyperinfection". He decided to visit the doctors at the University of Hospital in Madrid after he started experiencing mild diarrhoea and an itchy rash.

On examing the man, doctors found that he had contracted a parasite called strongyloides stercoralis which causes an illness called strongyloidiasis. The study of the illness was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The images that were released along with the study showed how the doctors traced out the larvae on the person's skin. It looked like shabbily drawn tattoos. The larvae were removed within 24 hours.

“After treatment with oral Ivermectin, the patient’s rash and diarrhoea subsided," said a hospital spokesperson, according to the New York Post.

Meanwhile, doctors are unclear about how the man was infected. However, they noted that the environmental factors he was exposed to might have made him prone to catching the infection.

According to the New York Post, doctors stated that the condition can go undetected for many years as it is usually asymptomatic. But in the sanitation worker's case, they stated the parasite mutified due to a hormone therapy for malignant spinal cord compression that suppressed his immune system.

Subsequently, he went into a state of hyperinfection.