Live worm found in Australian woman’s brain, can it kill you

The world of medical science is full of mysteries and miracles. Proving the same is the first-in-the-world case of an eight cm (three inches) worm being found ‘alive’ in the brain of an Australian woman.
To the surprise of the treating doctors, the string-like structure turned out to be a living worm. Although the doctors were trained to treat varied neurological issues, finding a worm in the brain was not something that they thought of. However, the team collectively came up with the solution and operated to get the worm out of the brain.
But does the worm in the brain do any harm? It surely damaged the frontal lobe of the 64-year-old Australian woman. She had suffered varied symptoms like stomach pain, a rigorous cough, and night sweats, which evolved into forgetfulness and depression.
What effect do worms have on the brain?
According to studies, worms in the brain can surely affect the nervous system, leading to many complications, sometimes even fatal.
These worms can encyst in the brain. The continuous formation of these cysts may lead to tissue damage, blindness, paralysis, and even death in some severe cases.  
The symptoms usually begin with seizures and headaches. However, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, difficulty with balance, and excess fluid around the brain (called hydrocephalus) may also occur in some cases.
These symptoms may occur months or even years after the infection, usually when the cysts start dying. When the cysts formed by the worm begin dying, the brain or other tissue around the cyst may swell. This puts pressure on the brain and surrounding tissues, leading to an infection. It is usually at this stage that diagnosis through a CT Scan and Brain MRI is done.
Being one of the rarest phenomena, finding an appropriate drug to mitigate the movement and effect of the worm is also not quite possible with the current research in the field. Also, for further research, there are a very limited number of cases that could prove unstable results, say researchers. However, certain drugs used for cancer treatments may be useful.
Although there have been speculations that the consumption of tapeworm and pork may lead to such cases, there has been no proper justification for how this phenomenon occurs. Surely, it is a mystery unsolved for now.