Parasitic worm once ate 'a part of' RFK Jr's brain. Here's how that might happen to anyone

US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr confirmed that he is in "robust health" after reports surfaced which suggested that a worm had infested his brain more than a decade ago.

According to a report published by The New York Times, Kennedy earlier was suffering from mercury poisoning and heart issues, which included an abnormality that was caused by a worm which had entered his brain and then died.

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Health has been akeypart of Kennedy's campaignandhe has compared his physical fitness to that of Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

In a statement on Wednesday (May 8), his campaign said, "Questioning Mr Kennedy's health is a hilarious suggestion, given his competition."

"Mr Kennedy travelled extensively in Africa, South America, and Asia in his work as an environmental advocate, and in one of those locations contracted a parasite.The issue was resolvedmore than10years ago, and he is in robust physical and mental health," the campaign added.

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What happened to Robert F Kennedy Jr?

In 2010, the US presidential candidate faced severe memory loss as well as mental fog.

As per the report in the Times, he consulted with top neurologists who knew about his late uncle's medical history. His uncle Ted Kennedy died of brain cancer in 2009.

After checking the scan of his brain, a New York doctor said that his health issues could have been “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,".

How does the disease affect the brain?

The health condition, known as neurocysticercosis, is a brain infection which is related to larvae from pork tapeworms. It is a rare conditionandnearly 1,000 to 2,000 people get hospitalised every year in the United States.

Neurocysticercosis leads to seizures, headaches, blindness, blurred vision, dizziness, psychosis or memory loss.In a few cases, it can also turn fatal.

The infection generally happens after people consume raw or undercooked porkwhichmay contain a tapeworm.

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The patients then shed tapeworm eggs in their stool andalsocontaminatesurfaces or food if their handsarenot properlywashed.

Because of this, when people around the patients consume food touched by them or come in contact with contaminated surfaces, theyaccidentally take in tapeworm eggs.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,healthcare providers have a poor understanding ofthe condition of such patients and that neurocysticercosisis a “neglected parasitic infection".

“It’s an important disease and gets ignored a lot,” said DrClinton White, an infectious disease professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

(With inputs from agencies)