3-year-old boy in Indonesia vomits live roundworms, doctors extract 3 bowls of parasites from his intestine

3-year-old boy vomits roundworms after suffering from bloating & constipation

A 3-year-old boy in Indonesia was diagnosed with a roundworm infection after vomiting worms during his stay at a hospital in Jember, Indonesia.

Source: Journal of Medical Case Reports

According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports on Thursday (10 Apr), the boy suffered from diarrhea and fever a week before his admission at the Soebandi General Hospital.

He was diagnosed with urinary tract infection at a primary care institution but began to experience abdominal discomfort and bloating a day later, prompting his parents to bring him to the hospital’s emergency department.

On his first day of admission, the boy began to vomit worms, leading doctors to consider a diagnosis of ascariasis, a parasitic infection caused by the large roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides.

3 bowls of roundworms extracted from boy’s intestine

An abdominal x-ray revealed an accumulation of excess gas in the boy’s gastrointestinal tract, possibly caused by an obstruction in his intestines.

Source: Journal of Medical Case Reports

After performing surgery on his abdomen, doctors found three sites of intestinal obstruction from the middle to the end of his small intestine.

They then decided to bring out the final section of his small intestine and manually pushed the roundworms out of it, extracting three bowls of the parasite.

Source: Journal of Medical Case Reports

A parasite analysis confirmed that the worms were A. lumbricoides.

The boy was treated with intravenous fluid, antibiotics, and parasite medication before being discharged seven days after the surgery.

Boy possibly came in contact with contaminated soil or water

Human cases of ascariasis usually occur “in poor tropical and subtropical nations with low personal hygiene and sanitation”, the study explained.

Infection takes place when humans accidentally ingest A. lumbricoides eggs through contact with soil mixed with human or pig faeces or by consuming contaminated food and drinks. It is believed that this was the case with the boy.

According to the study, the boy previously lived in Bali, where he played with friends in the river almost every day without any footwear.

After moving to Jember, the boy would follow his grandparents to pick up trash in landfills.

Additionally, his mother usually hand-fed him, and he drank unboiled water.

Also read: Tapeworm larvae discovered in patient’s body during X-ray by US doctor, linked to raw pork

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Featured image adapted from Journal of Medical Case Reports.