Does this video show a conscious man missing part of his skull?

Question

Warning: The linked video contains distressing images.

The Alerta National website has a recently published article about a man who was purportedly discovered in the Brazilian jungle seriously diseased.

It is accompanied with a video that shows a man with the top of his skull missing and the brain exposed. Maggots are seen wandering about in the wound. The man is laying on a gurney and the video is taken from the head end, with no imaging of the man beyond the upper chest (which is partially covered with a gown). The man is seen to blink his eyes and move his head. He coughs slightly but does not attempt to speak. The background (mostly floor) of the images is believable for a rural clinic environment. The head wound is deep enough that it seems unlikely to be faked with makeup goop.

Here is the disturbing video.

The article suggests that this may be evidence of zombies existing.

I personally find hard to believe that a man in such a state could be alive, let alone conscious.

Is the footage authentic?

Answer 1

It appears the patient is suffering cerebral myiasis which is a rare condition caused by parasitic infestation of fly larvae.

It seems that a person can continue to function at high level, despite the rather horrific appearance. This Snopes article about a similar case 15 years ago in California tells about a guy who had been driving around with the condition.

As for being conscious - it is common to awaken a patient during brain surgery (after cutting the scalp and the skull) in order to assess brain function during the process. Local anaesthesia is used to block the pain from having cut through the skin and meninges.

In the case of the video above, the patient is probably being assessed and so would need to be awake to communicate with the doctors. His condition is not sudden, and would have developed over time, during which he would likely have functioned as any other healthy person before presenting to a hospital or clinic.