Ophidascaris robertsi

Identification of Ophidascaris robertsi from closely related species such as Ophidascaris moreliae is noted to be difficult, depending on the morphology of the egg surface, if cervical alae or post-oesophageal caeca are present, and the shape of the lips. ==Hosts==

Reported infections in pythons include Antaresia childreni (children's python), Aspidites melanocephalus (black-headed python), Aspidites ramsayi (woma python), and Morelia spilota (carpet python). One case report of zoonotic infection in a human brain from Australia during 2021–22 was reported in August 2023. A 2021 study on host loss in parasite species used Ophidascaris robertsi as one of the subject taxa. == Human infection ==

In June 2022, a neurosurgeon in an Australian hospital found a roundworm in a woman's brain while investigating her mysterious symptoms. This was the first known instance of such an occurrence, as this type of worm had never been identified as a human parasite before. The woman, who lived near carpet python habitat and foraged for native vegetation to cook, was believed to have been exposed by consuming the roundworm's eggs. These eggs, which were commonly shed in snake droppings due to the snakes' diet of infected animals, likely contaminated the grass eaten by small mammals. Doctors theorize that the various symptoms experienced by the patient resulted from the migration of the parasitic eggs and larva from the bowel, through various other organs, before arriving in the brain. ==References==