Mangled Worm Needs a Professional’s Eye

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“What type of worm/parasite is this?” is all this reader writes in her submission regarding the white and red organism pictured below. From the looks of it, if this were a worm, it would be a pretty mangled one. It has lost the uniform, long shape that a worm possesses, and looks like a blob of tissue. For that reason, as well as due to the lack of context, we will have to say that the identity of this worm is inconclusive. We would not even be able to guess based on the coloration, as it is uncertain if the red color was actually a part of the worm originally, or if it is blood from its mangled body.

Now, in another picture our reader sent, there is a similar piece of tissue that is only white, though this does not answer that question anyway: it could be a part of the same worm that got ripped off its body. What we recommend our reader do is search her home and see if there are any whole worms that this creature could have once been. If she doesn’t find any, we recommend she dispose of this one and call it a day. If she finds more organisms that look like this one, and are the same shape, then she might want to consider that they are not worms at all, in which case we have no idea what they could be, as they do not look like anything we know of. Perhaps they could be some odd fungus. She could take samples of the creatures to her local county extension office, as someone will be able to physically examine it there and might have a better chance at arriving at some possible identifications.

With all of that said, we have to address the elephant in the room, or the parasite in the room. Our reader does explicitly ask what kind of “worm” or “parasite” it is. Naturally, we do not know why she labels it a potential parasite. In any case, if she has reasonable cause to suspect this is a parasite (for example, she is experiencing symptoms), then she should disregard what we have said above and instead seek the help of a medical parasitologist: a physician who specializes in identifying and treating medical issues caused by parasites. To find a medical parasitologist or other health care provider who can actually help, our reader can do one or more of the following:

– Visit our parasite care resources page here: https://www.allaboutworms.com/get-medical-attention-and-tests-for-parasites

– Search for a medical parasitologist in her area using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.

– Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.

In conclusion, we have no idea what this is, though we do not think it looks like a worm. If it is a worm, it has been mangled beyond recognition. If it is not a worm, then it is beyond our realm of expertise. We suggest our reader consult a medical parasitologist if she believes it could be a parasite, or if it could be negatively affecting her health in any way. We hope this helps, and we wish her the very best.

 

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Summary
Mangled Worm Needs a Professional's Eye
Article Name
Mangled Worm Needs a Professional's Eye
Description
"What type of worm/parasite is this?" is all this reader writes in her submission regarding the white and red organism pictured below. From the looks of it, if this were a worm, it would be a pretty mangled one. It has lost the uniform, long shape that a worm possesses, and looks like a blob of tissue. For that reason, as well as due to the lack of context, we will have to say that the identity of this worm is inconclusive. We would not even be able to guess based on the coloration, as it is uncertain if the red color was actually a part of the worm originally, or if it is blood from its mangled body.
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Author: Worm Researcher Anton

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