Sunday 18 April 2010

Leech up your nose

Nose-dwelling leech? Right. This story on the BBC website had me imagining for a while whether there could be anything grosser than that!

Indeed, a gross nose-dwelling leech. Discovered by an international team of scientists in Peru three years ago.

According to the story, they extracted the leech, measuring 65 to 70 millimetres, from the nose of a nine-year-old girl who admitted bathing in lakes, rivers and streams. The girl's parents had noticed a black worm moving inside her right nostril and sought medical attention.


It has been given the name Tyrannobdella rex which means tyrant leech king. The making of another T Rex.

This Peruvian story is enough to give me goosebumps. So what else has my wild mind been imagining? Methinks, the only common leech up anyone's nose would be this one.

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