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Woman Sneezes Out Inch-Long Worms From Nose
9 Apr
Summary
- A 58-year-old woman sneezed out nearly one-inch-long worms.
- Doctors removed 10 larvae and one pupa of sheep bot flies.
- Larvae unusually reached the pupal stage inside a human host.
A 58-year-old woman in Greece experienced a rare medical incident where she sneezed out nearly one-inch-long worms from her nose. The journal Emerging Infectious Diseases published this case in its April 2026 issue, noting the biological implausibility of the parasite reaching its pupal stage in a human host.
The patient developed severe sinus pain and coughing weeks after encountering flies while working outdoors on a Greek island in September. On October 15, she discovered and expelled what she described as "worms" from her nose. An ear, nose, and throat specialist subsequently removed 10 larvae and one pupa of sheep bot flies from her maxillary sinuses.
DNA testing identified the dislodged critters as baby sheep bot flies (Oestrus ovis), parasites that typically infest sheep and goats. Experts suggest that the woman's severely deviated nasal septum created a unique environment conducive to the larvae's advanced development, a phenomenon previously unobserved in human hosts.
