(Daily Star) – A man complaining of tummy pains has had a staggering 59ft long tapeworm removed from his bottom – the longest recorded in Thailand for 50 years.

The 67-year-old patient, from Nong Khai province, said he had suffered “flatulence” since the beginning of March and went to a hospital where the doctor took a stool sample for testing. The results showed it contained 28 infective larvae which the doctors believed came from infected and uncooked beef.

They prescribed medication to the patient before the giant parasite oozed out of his bottom the next day on March 20. Footage taken at the Parasitic Disease Research Centre shows two astonished medics pouring water onto a huge chunk of tapeworm. Then they use a pair of forceps to unfurl the parasite and lay it onto a red plastic mat.

It measured just over 18 meters (59ft) in length, making it the longest tapeworm seen in Thailand in the last 50 years. A spokesman for the Parasitic Disease Research Centre said: “A Taenia saginata bovine tapeworm more than 18 meters long was obtained from a patient whose sample was sent to the center.

“He was given the deworming medication before bedtime and in the morning this long worm came out of his bottom. It was very big and took us a while to lay it all out on the ground.” The man was given medication and was warned to change his eating habits. READ MORE