A 35-year-old Indian man suffered from blurred vision and redness in his eye for several months. When he finally visited an eye clinic, doctors discovered that the problem could not be treated by conventional methods as a worm had settled in the back of his eyeball.

A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine detailed this alarming case. The man’s left eye was inflamed, his pupil was wide open and unresponsive, and his vision dropped to 20/80.

A quick look inside the eye revealed a parasite writhing in the vitreous body, the gel-like substance filling the space between the lens and the retina. Doctors immediately scheduled a vitrectomy, a procedure usually used to repair the retina rather than eliminate germs. They made small incisions in the sclera (the white of the eye), attached it to a suction device, and managed to extract the worm’s tail, which came out alive and moving.

Under the microscope, it was identified as Gnathostoma spinigerum, a parasitic worm native to India. Its life cycle passes through several animals before eventually reaching humans through the consumption of undercooked meat. When humans get infected, it is called gnathostomiasis.

The parasite moves through the stomach and intestines causing a wide range of symptoms often misdiagnosed as other diseases. The larvae then migrate to other organs, consuming them as they travel. Eventually, they settle in various body parts, including the eyes.

The report noted the patient was lucky the parasite did not reach his brain. After extraction, he was treated with antiparasitic drugs and steroids. After eight weeks, the inflammation subsided but his vision did not recover due to cataract formation, a common complication after surgery.