The 23-year-old man was hospitalized when he was suffering abscesses on his legs and then the abscesses spread to his arms. Additionally, he had fatigue and pain for many days.

Surgeons later have removed five rare intestinal worms with the length of 30-60 centimeters from the abscesses in his hands.

Head of the hospital’s Surgery Ward Dr. Tran Thuong Viet said the worm had never been discovered in Vietnam before but is commonly found in rural areas of Africa with scientific name Dracunculus medinensis — a species of roundworm that causes Guinea worm disease.

There is no specific medication [for the disease caused by this worm], doctors have used the usual dose to remove the worms.

Through investigation, doctors found that the man usually eats living fish and crabs. As the worm is rare in the country, physicians said that it is necessary to study water source where the man live because the worm eggs are spread via a water source.