Alive 5cm Leech Coughed Up by Man Coughing Up Blood

A bizarre case has been reported of a man in his 50s coughing up a live, 5-cm-long leech while coughing.

According to the international medical journal Cureus, a 56-year-old man living in Morocco was hospitalized with severe hemoptysis (coughing up blood), voice changes, and breathing difficulties. His condition was so severe that he was vomiting 200 to 300 mL of blood a day.

However, an unexpected event occurred on the second day of his hospitalization. While having a severe cough, the man spat out a live leech measuring about 5 cm. As soon as the leech came out, the bleeding miraculously stopped immediately. The man's health also recovered rapidly afterward.

Research team led by Professor Albatoul Debbagh of the Department of Pulmonology at Mohammed VI University Hospital in Agadir, Morocco, who reported the case, explained, "For patients with severe hemoptysis of unknown cause who have been exposed to uninfected freshwater such as valleys, the possibility of bronchial leech infection must be considered."

(Reported by Yang Hyun-yi | Video by Lee Eui-sun | Design by Yang Hye-min | Source: Cureus | Produced by SBS Digital News)