World’s longest monkey tapeworm found in 10-year-old boy from Kurunegala

By Zainab Hussein

Colombo, May 26 (Daily Mirror) - Reportedly, the world’s longest Bertiella worm (70cm) or commonly known as Monkey Tapeworm, belonging to the Bertiella genus—a tapeworm which rarely infects humans was found in a young boy from Kurunegala, the Medical Research Institute (MRI) revealed on Monday.

Announcing the discovery of the extraordinary parasitic worm, the MRI’s Parasitology team said, according to available data, this was the longest so far found in the world.

Dr. Suranga Dolamulla, Director of the MRI, stated that according to recent research, the longest Bertiella worm ever documented measured approximately 40 centimetres. However, the specimen which was examined exceeded this considerably, measuring up to 70 centimetres in length.

The Tapeworm was detected by Chief Medical Laboratory Scientist, Department of Parasitology, Thusharah Thanthirige, who further collected the specimens of the worm over a span of three months and combined it at the laboratory.

The Head of the Department of Parasitology and Consultant Virologist, Dr. Rohitha Muthugala explained that this type of human infection is extremely rare, as the natural hosts of this tapeworm species are typically monkeys. When monkey faeces contaminate the soil, mites can carry the tapeworm eggs, which may then infect fruits and soil they come into contact with. This phenomenon is more common in areas such as Kurunegala and Anuradhapura, where monkey populations are dense.

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