A Vietnamese woman has come perilously close to death after she found parasitic worms crawling underneath her skin and nesting in her brain. The 58-year-old was rushed to a nearby hospital after she noticed peculiar objects beneath her skin and experienced severe headaches. The reaction occurred after she ate a local delicacy known as “Tiet canh”, which she admitted she had eaten at least once a month but had decided to make herself to avoid potential diseases.
The Vietnamese woman, 58, from An Binh commune in the suburbs of Hanoi, survived after she was rushed to Dang Van Ngu Hospital.
She had eaten the local delicacy, ‘Tiet canh’, which is made up of raw blood and cooked meat, usually duck or pork, before falling ill.
The woman, who has not been named, suffered from severe headaches and fell over multiple times in her home after preparing the meal herself.
After doctors ran tests, she was found to have parasitic worms swarming under her skin in her arms and legs, with the worms also nesting in her brain.
Deputy director of the hospital, Dr Tran Huy Tho, said medical staff had initially thought the woman’s symptoms were caused by a stroke.
But after undergoing a scan, it was discovered that she was suffering from an infestation of parasites in her body.
Images show the worms embedded beneath her skin in her feet and hands, appearing as horrifying zig-zagging lines.
The woman spoke to local media about her ordeal, admitting that she eats blood pudding once a month.
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“By the time they go to Dang Van Ngu Hospital, their conditions have already progressed and the parasites have already harmed their brain, forcing them to live with lifelong conditions like reduced eyesight.”
The woman has since been discharged from hospital and prescribed medication to cure the infestation.
Local Vietnamese dish “Tiet cahn” has been nicknamed one of the “most dangerous” dishes in the world.
It usually involves the raw blood of a duck or pig, mixed with fish sauce and the rendered fat of the meat, alongside some cooked pieces of the animal.