Woman Found 38 Parasites in Her Brain After India Trip
Lowri Denman's first clue that something was seriously wrong was finding a metre-long tapeworm in the toilet. It would take years, a psychiatric hospital stay, and a scan of her own brain to understand why.
The 42-year-old from Cardiff was eventually diagnosed with neurocysticercosis — a parasitic brain infection that left her with 38 larvae lodged in her skull, triggering severe headaches, seizures, and psychosis.
Where It Started
Denman traces the infection back to a three-month backpacking trip around India in 2007. Dr. Brendan Healy, a consultant in infectious diseases and microbiology who treated her, believes that's where she picked up the parasite.
She's one of only a handful of people diagnosed with the brain infection in the UK each year, caused by larvae of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium.
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Years Before the Diagnosis
The tapeworm discovery came a year before Denman's first seizure. It was only after that seizure that her mother made the connection between the two events, prompting further investigation.
A hospital stay followed, along with a CT scan and an MRI. Doctors initially suspected toxoplasmosis, an infection spread through contact with infected cat feces, before her scans revealed the true cause.
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"We've Found 38 Parasites on Your Brain"
Denman recalled the moment doctors delivered her scan results. "The doctor sat me down and said, 'right, okay, we've looked at your scans and we've found 38 parasites on your brain,'" she said. "Me and my mum were just jaws on the floor."
The summer before her diagnosis, Denman attended a festival in Wales. By that autumn, she was spending six weeks in a neuropsychiatric hospital as doctors worked to manage the psychiatric symptoms the infection had triggered.
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Why It's So Rare in the UK
Neurocysticercosis is common in parts of Latin America, South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, where it remains a leading cause of acquired epilepsy. The infection spreads through contact with food or water contaminated by tapeworm eggs, most often in regions with less-developed sanitation infrastructure.
It's rare in Europe and the US, though global travel and migration have gradually increased the number of imported cases doctors see outside endemic regions.
Turning the Ordeal Into Awareness
After years spent regaining her health, Denman now works in media and wants to use her experience to raise awareness of the condition. Most people who read about her case will never encounter neurocysticercosis themselves — but for the handful diagnosed in the UK each year, an early answer can mean years less searching for one.
TL;DR
- Lowri Denman was diagnosed with neurocysticercosis, a parasitic brain infection, after a 2007 trip to India
- Doctors found 38 tapeworm larvae in her brain, causing seizures and psychosis
- She is one of only a handful of people diagnosed with the condition in the UK each year
- The infection is caused by larvae of the pork tapeworm, Taenia solium
- Denman now works to raise awareness of the rare condition
