--- title: "Doctors Alarmed by Man with Worms Visibly Slithering under His Skin" description: "A Spanish man had a roundworm infection so bad that doctors could literally see the larvae slithering under his skin." date: "2022-04-25" modified: "2022-04-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/worms-under-skin-parasite" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "Infection" - "ivermectin" - "parasites" - "roundworms" --- # Doctors Alarmed by Man with Worms Visibly Slithering under His Skin ![A Spanish man had a roundworm infection so bad that doctors could literally see the larvae slithering under his skin.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* A Spanish man had a roundworm infection so bad that doctors could *literally see the larvae slithering under his skin*. A new case study [published in the *New England Journal of Medicine*]() details the 64-year-old man's rare "hyperinfection," which was officially diagnosed as a side effect from the *Strongyloides* *stercoralis* nematode's larvae. The horrific photos of the former sanitation worker's infection look more like shoddily-done tattoos than a parasite, because his doctors drew outlines of the initial placement of the larvae just under his skin, showing that they moved over course of 24 hours. https://twitter.com/AmbrizMau/status/1517301479035576322 As the *NEJM* notes, the Spanish patient had a number of [environmental factors]() that made him particularly susceptible to the parasite. Along with working at a sewage management facility, he had also been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. What's more, he developed the infection in the hospital after taking a high dose of immunosuppressive glucocorticoids for a cancerous growth that was pressing on his spinal cord. As terrifying as the whole ordeal sounds, the itchiness of the rash from the man's infection was perhaps the worst of his symptoms, though he did also suffer a bout of what was described as "mild" diarrhea. Both symptoms cleared up after the man's doctors [prescribed him none other than ivermectin]() — which works well on roundworms but not, as we've learned, [on COVID-19](). **READ MORE:** [Larva Currens in Strongyloides Hyperinfection Syndrome]() \[*New England Journal of Medicine*\] **More on terrifying parasites:** *[Doctors Alarmed to Discover Tapeworm Inside Man's Brain]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()