Drug user found on NYC train tracks had rare brain infection, study shows

A junkie found lying on the subway tracks was infected by a rare brain infection that kills one in every five people who contract the disease, a disturbing new research paper reported.

The 39-year-old New Yorker appeared to be wasting away when was found on the floor of the subway tunnel and tests later confirmed that he was suffering from cerebral nocardiosis — a bacterial infection that caused an abscess to form in the right side of his brain, according to an article by Jamaica Hospital doctors published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science on June 22.

The authors of the article did not say when and where the man was found.

Cerebral nocardiosis can be caused by 13 different species of nocardia bacteria, an opportunistic bug found in standing water and soil, and spread by breathing in dust with it; through open wounds, or by being injected with a dirty needle.

However, the infection can’t be spread from person to person.

Tests conducted on the unnamed man indicated that he had opioids in his system.

He was also was found to have hepatitis C, which can damage a person’s immune system, making the infection much more deadly, according to researchers who said the fatality rate was higher than 20% for people with healthy immune systems — and 55% for those who are immunocompromised.

The US, India ,and Mexico have the highest number of nocardiosis cases, according to the researchers, who called for more research into treatments for the rare infection of the brain.

Doctors initially gave the man a cocktail of drugs that included antibiotics, steroids, and anti-seizure medication.

On the fourth day of his hospitalization, doctors cut open a section of the man’s skull to reduce the pressure caused by the growth in his brain, cut out part of the abscess to be tested, and gave him antibiotics, which improved his mental condition.

Ultimately, he was discharged to a homeless shelter after about six weeks, the researchers said.