An eight-year-old girl in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, vomited live larvae for over a month.
After multiple medical consultations, doctors discovered the cause: larvae from drain flies commonly found in bathroom drains and toilets.
Mystery Illness Puzzles Doctors
The girl repeatedly vomited live larvae measuring approximately one centimetre in length over the past month.
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She sometimes expelled three to five larvae at once. Various deworming medications failed to improve her condition, prompting her parents to seek medical help.
According to Sina News, doctors initially suspected a rare parasitic infection. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of drain fly larvae.
These small insects have fuzzy bodies and wings that give them a moth-like appearance, though they are actually flies. They commonly inhabit bathroom drains and sewage systems.
How the Infection Occurred
Drain fly larvae thrive in humid environments. They typically inhabit the inner walls of drainage pipes beneath bathtubs, sinks, and toilet bowls, where organic matter accumulates.
Doctors believe the child likely ingested the larvae while brushing her teeth or rinsing her mouth in the bathroom. The larvae could also have entered her mouth when toilet water splashed during flushing.
Medical experts recommend several prevention measures to eliminate these drain flies. Homeowners should remove stagnant water, secure floor drains tightly, conduct regular pest control treatments, and clean drainage systems periodically.
This case highlights an unusual but preventable health risk from poor bathroom hygiene. Proper maintenance of drainage systems can prevent similar infections in the future.
Drain flies pose multiple health risks beyond ingestion as well. In a separate incident, a man in China lost his left eye after swatting a drain fly on his face, which caused a severe infection that spread rapidly and required surgical removal of his eyeball to prevent brain invasion.
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