A Researcher Diagnoses Parasite Extracted From His Own Mouth

Jon Allen, a scientist and Professor of Biology suspected the existence of a worm in his mouth. After extraction of the warm from his mouth, the Professor placed it in a jar containing saliva for diagnosis in a laboratory when the organism is still intact. At the laboratory the organism was identified as Gongylonema pulchrum, a rare microorganism that is mostly found in animals. This has led to most scientists thinking that infection of the organisms in humans has not been fully documented. Allen then did a morphological and genetic identification of the organism with assistance from a neighbor Esquela-Kerscher who was experienced in genetic identification of organisms. He also obtained that the organism infection was very asymptomatic. "There are reports in the literature of some associated symptoms, mild nausea and things like that," Allen said in reference to this. He also discovered that smaller microorganism belonging to the same strain may exist in the body and cause damage only when mature. The treatment strategy should therefore focus on eliminating the mature organisms as well as the young ones.