Stomach-churning images have captured the moment doctors discovered bloodsucking worms writhing in a woman’s intestine. 

The 75-year-old farmer had battled sleep issues, a poor appetite and dizziness for two months before finally seeking medical help.  

After attending hospital, blood tests revealed she had severe anaemia, according to Chinese medics who shared her story in a journal. 

Anaemia occurs when the body doesn’t produce enough healthy red blood cells, required for carrying oxygen around the body, leading to a range of symptoms.

Initially she was offered treatment for this.  

However when the problems persisted doctors carried out an endoscopy—inserting a camera into the gut via the mouth—and found live hookworms crawling in her gut. 

Tests also showed that hookworm eggs in her stools were necator americanus, a species known to cause severe anaemia.

Such parasites feed on blood in the intestines, which can lead to severe iron deficiency over time. 

Medics at Central South University in Hunan said the woman—who wasn’t identified—was likely exposed to the worms via contaminated soil working as a farmer. 

When the woman's symptoms persisted despite treatment doctors carried out an endoscopy¿inserting a camera into the gut via the mouth¿and found live hookworms crawling in her gut

When the woman’s symptoms persisted despite treatment doctors carried out an endoscopy—inserting a camera into the gut via the mouth—and found live hookworms crawling in her gut

Writing in the Journal of Medical Case Reports, they added: ‘Although hookworm infection is rare in China, it remains a concern in rural areas, where the prevalence of such infections may still be underestimated. 

The woman was prescribed albendazole tablets, a treatment used for a variety of intestinal parasite infections including pinworms and hookworms. 

She also received blood transfusions to boost her hemoglobin levels.

Follow-up appointments revealed her symptoms vanished, and her ‘anaemia was cured’.

The case, however, was tricky to diagnose the medics said. 

This was because the farmer did not show typical signs of gastrointestinal bleeding, which can occur with hookworm infections, they added. 

Adult hookworms live in the intestines of infected dogs and cats. When those animals go to their bathroom, sometimes, their feces contains hookworm eggs. 

When a human steps on, sits on or touches that soil, the larva can burrow into the skin or can ingest them. 

Tests also showed that hookworm eggs in her stools (pictured) were necator americanus, a species known to cause severe anaemia

Tests also showed that hookworm eggs in her stools (pictured) were necator americanus, a species known to cause severe anaemia

They are not mature enough to penetrate into other regions of the body, and stay in the skin, moving as much as a centimeter per day.

It’s especially common in the feet, buttocks, thighs and hands, but the worms can enter through any part of the skin. It cannot spread between humans.

This infection is especially common in tropical regions of the world—including the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of the Southeastern United States.

Three per cent of men and eight per cent of women in the UK have the iron deficiency condition anaemia, and it is on the rise. 

Symptoms include a yellowing of the skin, dizziness and depression. It can also often cause tiredness, shortness of breath or heart palpitations.

Last year there was a tenfold rise in the number of people hospitalised with iron deficiency, with nearly 200,000 being admitted.

When a patient has anaemia, their GP will usually check their haemoglobin and ferritin levels. 

Haemoglobin is a protein found in the red blood cells that carry oxygen around the body and gives blood its red colour. Ferritin is another blood protein which stores iron.

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