Look away now for those who\u2019re squeamish. <\/p>\n
A Greek woman needed to seek medical attention after sneezing bugs out of her nose.<\/p>\n
The bizarre ailment, which terrified those that witnessed it, was attributable to a parasitic fly\u2019s larvae.<\/p>\n
Doctors removed a whole larval colony from her nose and she or he has since recovered. <\/p>\n
They consider she became infected with the bug \u2013 Oestrus ovis (Diptera: Oestridae) or the sheep bot fly \u2013 because of her close proximity to sheep.<\/p>\n
It’s a cosmopolitan parasite in hot and dry regions, including countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Accidental human infestations are rare to unheard of but not unimaginable. <\/p>\n
\u2018The patient was a 58-year-old woman in Greece who worked outdoors on a Greek island, adjoining to a field with grazing sheep,\u2019 Dr Ilias Kioulos, a medical entomologist on the Laboratory of Pesticide Science, Agricultural University of Athens writes.\u2019It was September, during hot and dry weather, and she or he noticed quite a few flies swarming round her face.<\/p>\n
\u2018Roughly one week later, she had onset of progressive maxillary pain, followed over the subsequent two to 3 weeks by severe coughing. She reported no other symptoms. <\/p>\n
\u2018On October 15, she sought medical attention after she sneezed and \u2018worms\u2019 began coming out of her nose.\u2019<\/p>\n Kioulos and his team say apart from bugs coming out of your nose there may be little to fret about when it comes to the long-term effects of the parasitical infection.<\/p>\n \u2018An otolaryngologist surgically removed 10 larvae of assorted stages and one pupa from her maxillary sinusm,\u2019 he added. <\/p>\n \u2018She was treated with nasal decongestants and made a whole recovery. None of her co-workers reported similar symptoms.\u2019<\/p>\n While the unpleasant condition is rare in humans, it’s fairly common in livestock that go unchecked.<\/p>\n \u2018The O. ovis life cycle inside its natural hosts, sheep and goats, is well-documented,\u2019 the team said. \u2018O. ovis bot flies infrequently affect humans, most frequently depositing larvae within the conjunctival sac and barely into the nostrils, mouth, or external auditory meatus. <\/p>\n \u2018Essentially the most common clinical manifestation is acute catarrhal conjunctivitis, typically preceded by the sudden sensation of a foreign body.\u2019<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/coverimages55606548-3f83.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=358\")
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