A shocking incident has occurred in Yangzhou, China, where an 8-year-old girl repeatedly vomited live worms for over a month. Despite taking deworming medication, her symptoms didn't improve, leading her family to visit multiple hospitals. Finally, a children's hospital in Yangzhou City identified the cause as a drain fly larvae infection. This event serves as a stark warning about the hygiene conditions in our surroundings, especially the dangers of pests that easily breed in humid and hot environments.

 
Horrific Vomiting, The Truth Behind It

For the past month, the young girl in Yangzhou City repeatedly vomited live worms, each about 1 cm long. She endured the horrific experience daily, with one or two, sometimes even four or five, worms expelled at once. The girl's suffering, as well as her family's distress, must have been immense. When conventional deworming medication proved ineffective, the desperate family sought help from various hospitals.

Eventually, Director Zhang Bingbing of Yangzhou Children's Hospital revealed that the worms found in the girl's body were none other than drain fly larvae. Drain fly larvae can parasitize the human body and cause various symptoms, but their expulsion through vomiting, as in this case, is an extremely rare and shocking incident. The girl is now recovering after receiving medication to eliminate the parasites.

 
Drain Flies: A Hidden Threat in Our Surroundings

Drain flies are small, commonly seen flying insects that primarily inhabit damp and dark places in groups, such as bathroom floors, sink drains, toilet crevices, and sewers. They breed in moist environments rich in organic matter, feeding on organic debris in sewers or septic tanks, and even hair or soap scum. The girl's family also testified that drain flies had been flying around their bathroom for a long time.

Drain flies themselves do not bite humans like mosquitoes or directly transmit diseases. However, their larvae are a different story. An official from the Yangzhou health authorities warned, "When children brush their teeth or rinse their mouths in the bathroom, or when flushing the toilet, larvae can enter the human body through splashed water." Adult flies can also crawl on sewers and contaminated areas, potentially landing on food or utensils and transferring bacteria. In this way, drain flies are a hidden pest that can threaten our health in ways we easily overlook.

 
Routes of Human Invasion and Potential Diseases

Drain fly larvae can invade the human body through various routes. The most common is oral infection through contaminated water droplets or fine dust. Bathrooms, in particular, are places where humid environments and contaminated water coexist, so the possibility of larvae or eggs being mixed in the water used for brushing teeth or washing faces, or in the fine water droplets generated when flushing the toilet, cannot be ruled out. Larvae can also penetrate through bodily openings such as the nose, ears, and eyes, and rarely, cases of penetration through broken skin have also been reported.

The disease caused by drain fly larvae invading the human body is called Psychodid Myiasis. Myiasis broadly refers to diseases where fly larvae invade and parasitize the body of living vertebrates, causing tissue damage or inflammatory reactions. Psychodid myiasis exhibits various symptoms depending on the site of invasion. If it invades the digestive tract, as in the girl's case, it can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. If it invades the skin, it can cause dermatitis, itching, and pustules. Rarely, it can also invade the eyes, ears, nasal cavity, or urinary tract, causing inflammation or dysfunction in those areas. In severe cases, the larvae can invade major organs such as the brain or lungs, leading to fatal consequences, requiring extreme caution.

 
Rainy Season: The Importance of Hygiene Management

The humid and hot rainy season provides an optimal environment for drain fly larvae to breed. High humidity and warm temperatures increase egg hatching rates and accelerate larval growth. Therefore, even more thorough hygiene management is essential during this period.

Here are specific ways to prevent drain fly breeding and protect our health:

Moisture Removal: Immediately remove standing water from bathroom floors, sinks, and kitchen sinks. After showering, turn on the ventilation fan to remove moisture and open windows to circulate the air.
Drain Management: Cap unused drains and periodically pour hot water or diluted bleach to clean the inside. Ensure that drain traps always contain water to prevent larvae or adult flies from coming up.
Maintain Cleanliness: Keep all bathroom and kitchen surfaces clean, and regularly clean to prevent food debris or hair from accumulating. It's good practice to flush the toilet immediately after use and keep the lid closed.
Crevice Management: Effectively seal small crevices in walls, tile gaps, and around pipes with silicone to prevent drain flies from hiding or breeding.
Screen Inspection: Check if window screens are torn or have holes, and repair or replace them if necessary to block the entry of pests from outside.
This case of the Chinese girl clearly demonstrates how a small pest in our surroundings can pose a significant threat. We must not forget that drain flies, which we often dismiss as mere nuisances, can invade the human body and lead to horrific consequences. Now is the time to pay special attention to personal hygiene and maintain the cleanliness of our living environment to protect ourselves and our families.