A woman was found to be infected with parasitic worms that had buried inside her brain after she had eaten a raw blood pudding.
The Vietnamese woman, 58, from An Binh commune in the suburbs of Hanoi, survived the attack after being taken to hospital.
She had eaten the local delicacy, ‘Tiet canh’, which is made up of raw blood and cooked meat, before falling ill.
The woman, who has not been named, suffered from severe headaches and fell over multiple times in her home after preparing the meal herself.
She was taken to the Dang Van Ngu Hospital, where she was found to have parasitic worms swarming under her skin in her arms and legs, with the worms also nesting in her brain.
Deputy director of the hospital, Dr Tran Huy Tho, was quoted in local media saying medical staff initially thought the woman’s symptoms were caused by a stroke.
However, after undergoing a scan, it was discovered that she was suffering from an infestation of parasites in her body.
She has since been discharged from hospital and prescribed medication to cure the infestation.
The woman spoke to local media about her ordeal, admitting that she eats blood pudding once a month.
She said: "I thought if I make the pudding myself, it would be clean and I would rest assured knowing there would be no disease involved."
Dr Tho confirmed that the woman contracted the worm infestation from the raw blood pudding, and that her condition could have been much more severe.
If her symptoms were left unchecked, the woman could have ended up paralysed or dead without swift treatment.
The doctor said: "Many people even believe they suffer from seizures, strokes and other mental health conditions, so they get treated at psychiatric hospitals for years.
"By the time they go to Dang Van Ngu Hospital, their conditions have already progressed and the parasites have already harmed their brain, forcing them to live with lifelong conditions like reduced eyesight."
