Woman sneezes out maggots after fly larvae get trapped in her deviated septum

In a remarkable medical incident, a 58-year-old woman from Greece has become the subject of medical fascination after sneezing out larvae from a sheep bot fly, marking one of the rarest cases of this phenomenon. Typically, when a sheep bot fly, scientifically known as Oestrus ovis, makes its way into a human nose, its first-stage larvae do not progress further. In their natural host, sheep, these larvae migrate to the sinuses where they grow and develop through various stages before exiting to pupate in the soil. However, this woman's case, detailed in the Journal of Emerging Infectious Diseases, reveals that larvae not only survived but developed to advanced stages within her nasal cavity. Medical entomologists reported finding both pupa and the puparium—the protective casing surrounding a pupa—inside her nose. The woman, who spent time outdoors near sheep grazing fields, experienced a swarm of flies attacking her face on a particularly hot day in September. Following this incident, she initially suffered facial pain and a persistent cough, which lasted for several weeks. It wasn't until October 15 that she experienced a shocking moment when she sneezed and expelled what she described as “worms.” These were confirmed to be late-stage larvae of the sheep bot fly, showcasing an unprecedented instance of this parasitic interaction in humans.