Earlier this year, a woman in Russia was plagued by a mysterious, itchy lump on her face. According to NBC News, the unidentified female patient featured in the case study initially noticed a bump below her left eye. At first, she didn’t panic, as it wasn’t protruding much. But five days later, the bump was no longer there — it had migrated to a spot above her left eye. Ten days after that, the strange lump had moved down to her upper lip.
The 32-year-old sought medical advice from an ophthalmologist. It was at that point that doctors realized the lumps were caused by a worm. Her medical team believes that she contracted the worm (a type of nematode) after being bitten by mosquitoes while in a rural area located outside of Moscow.
When doctors pulled the worm out, it measured approximately 6 inches long. They identified it as a Dirofilaria repens, a nematode that normally affects only dogs and cats. Apparently, mosquitoes do occasionally pick up the worm and can transmit it to humans. The nematode, which is distantly related to the heartworm and generally found in Europe, Africa, and Asia, is typically harmless, though it might cause allergic reactions in animals who contract it.
Dr. Vladimir Kartashev of Rostov State Medical University in Russia and parasitologist Fernando Simon of the University of Salamanca in Spain cowrote a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine describing the bizarre — and downright horrifying — case.
“[The patient] documented these changes by taking photographs of her face (i.e., ‘selfies’),” they wrote. “The nodules occasionally caused a localized itching and burning sensation, but otherwise she had no symptoms…. After removal of the worm, the patient had a full recovery.”