- A 58-year-old woman in Greece sneezed out nearly one-inch-long worms from her nose
- Doctors removed 10 larvae and one pupa of sheep bot flies from her maxillary sinuses
- The larvae unusually reached the pupal stage inside a human host for the first time
In a rare medical case, a 58-year-old woman in Greece sneezed out nearly one-inch-long worms from her nose, leaving doctors shocked. This incident, documented in the April 2026 issue of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, is considered "biologically implausible" because the parasite reached the pupal stage within a human host for the first time on record.
According to the New York Post, the patient had been working outdoors on a Greek island near a field of grazing sheep in September when she was swarmed by flies. About a week after the encounter, she developed persistent sinus pain followed by several weeks of severe coughing.
On October 15, she sneezed and observed what she described as "worms" emerging from her nose. An ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist surgically removed 10 larvae and one pupa from her maxillary sinuses. She was treated with nasal decongestants and has since made a complete recovery.
The dislodged critters, one nearly an inch long, were identified as baby sheep bot flies (Oestrus ovis) through DNA testing. These parasites typically infest sheep and goats' nasal passages, and it's unusual to find them in humans.
"Biologically Implausible"
Sheep bot fly larvae typically thrive in the nasal passages of sheep and goats. In previous human cases, the larvae never developed past the first stage. Experts from Live Science noted two key reasons for this case's rarity:
- Pupation in a Mammal: Normally, these larvae must drop into soil to pupate. They typically die, liquefy, or calcify if trapped inside a host's sinuses.
- Anatomical Factors: Doctors believe the woman's severely deviated nasal septum created a unique, sheltered environment with the right humidity and temperature to allow the larvae to reach advanced stages.
The authors also speculated that unknown factors contributed to this unusual development, or it might be an evolutionary adaptation allowing the species to complete its life cycle in humans.
"In either scenario, additional cases and data are needed to understand this phenomenon, but clinicians should be aware of the potential for human bot fly infections in endemic areas," they concluded.
