Doctors in China treated an eight-year-old girl from Yangzhou City in Jiangsu province, who had been throwing up live worms for around a month, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The doctors found that the cause of her illness was linked to something so common in a household - drain flies, also known as moth flies.
The girl's symptoms included vomiting live larvae, approximately 1 centimetre long, indicating a severe infestation. Her family members were fine, suggesting the infection was not contagious.
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She saw many doctors, but initially, they were unable to identify the cause. A doctor at the Children's Hospital of Soochow University in Jiangsu suggested sending the samples to the local Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, where a staff member recognised the worm.
The moth flies are small insects with distinctive heart-shaped wings. They thrive in environments rich in organic matter, such as clogged drains.
As quoted in the report, Xu Yuhui, who is a department chief at the Yangzhou Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that the drain flies' larvae had contaminated the running underground water.
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"When the child brushes her teeth or flushes the toilet, the worms might enter her system through splashes of water," Xu said.
The report mentioned that the flies do not send diseases via the blood, but they can still cause problems. If left untreated, parasitic infections can lead to more severe health issues, including intestinal blockages, anaemia and malnutrition. Such infestations can be tackled through a combination of good hygiene practices.
Preventing such infestations involves maintaining good hygiene practices, such as proper drainage, regular cleaning and good hygiene.
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