Doctors at a hospital in Portugal detected infestation of carnivorous larvae in the ear of a 64-year-old male patient who applied to the health service with the complaints of pain, itching and bleeding in the ear canal.
According to professionals, physical examination showed “a large number of larvae” blocking the patient’s ear. They also found that a small area of the eardrum was punctured by the parasites.
Catarina Rato, one of the doctors responsible for the incident, told Newsweek that the larvae found in the patient came from a fly species. Cochliomyia hominivorax????????
Common in tropical and subtropical regions, the species lays its eggs on other organisms that develop into larvae that feed on the living tissues of warm-blooded animals. The infection is known as “myiasis.”
Image: Getty Images/iStock
The man, who had symptoms for five days, was hospitalized. Doctors at Pedro Hispano Hospital in the city of Matosinhos described the case as rare in a paper published November 24 in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Also, according to the article, this type of infection can occur anywhere on the body and is more likely to occur in areas such as the mouth, open wounds, scalp, and natural orifices such as the ears, nose, and genitals. If the larvae are dead or rotting in deep tissue, surgery may be needed to remove them.
After seven days of identification, the man was evaluated and no more larvae were found. It has not been announced whether there will be any sequels.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.