found a “dancing” worm in a patient’s testicle; understand the phenomenon

A clinical case surprised the medical team at a hospital in New Delhi, India. A 26-year-old man arrived at the hospital with a mild fever as well as pain and swelling in his testicles when tests were done that showed the problem was a worm “dancing” in his testicles.

In a case study in the New England Journal of Medicine, published Dec. 8, researchers explain that the “phenomenon” is caused by nematodes that are part of the Wuchereria bancrofti species and that are transmitted by mosquitoes.

These worms manage to “travel” through the lymphatic system of the human body and, in adulthood, can live from five to seven years. The disease caused by the worm is called lymphatic filariasis and can lead to swelling of the tissues (lymphedema), elephantiasis, and swollen testicles in men.

The experts explained: ‘Linear structures can be seen moving within one of the ducts, a finding in lymphatic filariasis known as the ‘sign of filariasis’.

According to the case study, the patient was cured after the tests and after three weeks of using the drug, the man no longer had worms in the organ.