How Do People Get Parasitic Brain Worms Like The One RFK, Jr., Had? 

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Experts explain how certain worms can infect the brain and why they are an important global public health problem. Earlier this week news broke that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., claimed to have once had a dead worm in his brain. Kennedy had been experiencing memory loss and mental fog, and he originally suspected these symptoms might be caused by a brain tumor.

Brain scans in 2010 showed a cyst that his doctors said contained remains of a parasite. The findings and other health issues were revealed in New York Times article based on a review of a deposition for his 2012 divorce, as well as an interview the outlet conducted with him.

The revelation drew attention in the worlds of politics and parasitology. “I woke up to all kinds of messages from friends in parasitology,” says Shira Shafir, an epidemiologist and an associate adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, in response to the news….Story continues….

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Source: How Do People Get Parasitic Brain Worms like the One RFK, Jr., Had? | Scientific American

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