Mouth Full Of Maggots May Actually Be A Disease Called Myiasis

A graphic video has surfaced online that shows a dentist coming across a patient whose mouth was infected by maggots. The disturbing clip is suspected to have been shot in India and was shared online on LiveLeak.com.

The clip shows slimy maggots — usually found in rotten meat — crawling inside the woman’s mouth. Although the patient is still unidentified, it is believed to be a woman because of her long hair. The video shows the dentist tugging at the lower lip of the patient to reveal the maggots wriggling about in the mouth, Mirror reported. The video can be viewed by clicking the link (Warning: Graphic Content).

In the 56-second long clip, the patient can be continuously heard wincing and breathing heavily. The medical condition the patient seems to be suffering from is still not clearly diagnosed; however, according to the Health Site, the symptoms the patient is suffering from are quite similar to that of Myiasis, a Latin word where 'myia' means to fly and 'iasis' means disease.

According to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), myiasis is a type of “infection with a fly larva, usually occurring in tropical and subtropical areas. There are several ways for flies to transmit their larvae to people."

According to the website, myiasis usually occurs in tropical and subtropical areas which include countries such as Central America, South America, Africa, and the Caribbean Islands. Although it is still uncommon in the United States, most people may catch the infection when they travel to tropical areas in Africa and South America. Generally, people with untreated and/or open wounds are likely to get the infection, CDC article says.

The symptoms as identified in the article are a lump being developed in the tissue as the larvae start to grow. It says “larvae under the skin may move on occasion. Usually, larvae will remain under the skin and not travel throughout the body”. It is imperative to consult a health professional to get proper diagnosis and treatment."

According to the Mirror, this is not the first case of Myiasis that has been reported. In March 2015, Ana Cardoso, then 10, was taken to a doctor as she had swollen gums. It was later found she had 15 maggots inside her mouth which were removed surgically.

Her mother spoke to the Mirror regarding the same and said, "She had been saying for a few days that she felt something moving around in her mouth and at first I thought she was joking.” Cardoso was also diagnosed with a rare form of Oral Myiasis, a maggot infection that grows in humans and animals.