In an unusual case, a woman developed a parasitic infection in her lungs, when more typically, the parasite stays just under the skin.
The patient: A 32-year-old woman in Shanghai
The symptoms: The woman went to the hospital with a persistent cough accompanied by occasional bloody phlegm, which she would cough up two to three times per day. She said the coughing began four months prior to her hospital visit. And about a month before the coughing started, she had a fever that lasted several weeks and reached up to 100.8 degrees Fahrenheit (38.3 degrees Celsius).
What happened next: Doctors at the hospital diagnosed the woman with a rare respiratory illness called eosinophilic pneumonia, an infection in which white blood cells accumulate in the lungs and cause inflammation. If left untreated, the infection can damage the lungs, and in some cases, it can be fatal.
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