Aussie mum living with African parasite 'for 40 years'
Expecting a cancer diagnosis, the woman's daughter was 'shocked' to find out the real reason for her mysterious illness.
A Queensland woman who has inexplicably felt sick “on and off” for the last 40 years finally has some answers to her mysterious illness.
For years, Jocelyn, 70, has been battling several chronic conditions including abdominal pain, vertigo, fatigue, nausea, a loss of appetite and weight loss.
But when she would go to her local doctors or find herself in the emergency department at hospital in Brisbane, no one could pinpoint why.
"My mum would go through phases of having severe pain," her daughter Kat Jamieson-Harwood told Yahoo News Australia. "And she would say, I need an ambulance, my stomach is burning and is so bloated, and the family would think she's having a heart attack."
For years, many doctors suspected the woman was simply suffering from the deleterious effects of alcoholism or dietary imbalances. "I think it just possibly didn't cross the mind of whatever doctors were treating her, because she had so many issues with digestion, and her high cholesterol - they were thinking its to do with her diet," Kat said.
After recently deciding to go to another hospital in Brisbane, a doctor specialising in infectious diseases decided to investigate further and called in a liver specialist due to there being an "unusual" amount of swelling in the organ.
"The specific doctor was just so willing and kind and took the time to figure out what was happening, and so he pushed for more tests," Jocelyn's daughter recalled.
Queensland woman diagnosed with Bilharzia
So after blood tests, scans, an MRI and biopsy, they found "layers and layers of eggs" in her liver, and was finally diagnosed with Bilharzia — a disease, also known as schistosoma, caused by parasitic worms which are endemic to her birth country Nigeria. But Jocelyn has not been there for 36 years and it is believed she contracted the disease bathing in a river with her family in Nigeria almost four decades ago.
Naturally, everyone in her family was "creeped out" by the discovery and shocked that "this whole time" worms have been "living in [her] body".
"I said ‘gross mum why would you go into freshwater? it was dirty’," Kat recalled asking her mum. "And mum said ‘it's 45-degree temperature, everyone bathed in the water, it's not a bizarre thing'."
Facts about Bilharzia
People become infected through contact with fresh water infested with parasitic blood flukes, known as schistosomes.
They are endemic to places like Africa (where there are the most infections), parts of South East Asia and the Middle East
Adult worms can live within venous plexuses for 20 to 30 years after the person has left an endemic area.
The chronic disease is generally asymptomatic until the late stages, at which point there is significant end-organ damage.
Not treating it can lead to early mortality
Source: WHO and Australian Refugee Health Practice Guide
‘I was waiting for a cancer diagnosis’
After years of discomfort, Ms Jamieson-Harwood was also "really worried" it would ultimately be deemed to be some sort of cancer — which is how her dad passed away — before finding out the real reason.
Following the diagnosis, Jocelyn was prescribed tablets – which are meant to be a quick fix – and is scheduled for a check-up in a few weeks.
"Good news, doc said that is completely treatable," Kat explained to Yahoo.
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Mum now feeling ‘like a million bucks’
She also mentioned that her mum is now "feeling great", having just returned from a trip to Thredbo.
"My mum is so wild. Like, she doesn't let anything slow her down, even though she had this chronic pain and disease for so long," Kat said.
"She said she feels like a million bucks, brand new. The diagnosis and treatment has changed her life.
"She used to only be able to have like two tablespoons of rice because she felt full and the other day her friends came over to celebrate. And my mum was like, ‘I had a full bowl of rice, some chicken, spring rolls, lemonade, and I don't feel sick'."
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