Author: Aimee Cunningham / Source: Science News for Students
A 26-year-old woman from Oregon felt something bothering her left eye. And a week later, she pulled out of that eye a nearly see-through worm. The creature was nearly 1-centimeter (0.
4-inch) long. The species was a type of cattle eyeworm. This was the first known case of one being found in a human.This small, parasitic worm — Thelazia gulosa — is a type of nematode. It can be found in North America, Europe, Australia and central Asia. As its name suggests, it normally infects the large eyes of cattle. Before it gets there, the worm spends its larval stage in the stomach of the aptly named face fly (Musca autumnalis). As the fly feasts on cattle tears and other eye secretions, it…
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