"Maggots Found Inside the Mouth of Father in a Nursing Hospital"

Presumed Hatching of Fly Eggs on Body Part
Two Similar Cases Reported in the Past

JTBC reported on the 14th that a shocking incident occurred where 'maggots' were found inside the mouth of a patient hospitalized in a nursing hospital.

According to the report, A, who was caring for her father in his 80s hospitalized at a nursing hospital in the Jeonbuk region, recently discovered several maggots measuring 1 to 1.5 cm inside her father's mouth.

Startled, A put on rubber gloves and removed the maggots from the mouth, and also sought help from the hospital nurses. They reportedly used a suction device to catch 4 to 5 maggots hiding inside the throat.

No relation to specific expressions in the article.

The next day, A took her father to a university hospital for a detailed examination. No other maggots were found, and blood test results showed that inflammation levels were within the normal range.

Regarding this, A raised the issue with the hospital, but the hospital reportedly did not express any particular stance on compensation.

Meanwhile, the maggots found in A’s father’s mouth are presumed to be a rare disease called 'oral myiasis.' This disease occurs when flies lay eggs on the patient's skin wounds, and the eggs hatch into maggots.

Previously, A’s father was hospitalized in a nursing hospital after losing consciousness in a traffic accident. It is speculated that flies entered his mouth and laid eggs while he kept his mouth open for a long time. Since the patient was unconscious at the time, he could not react even if the eggs hatched into maggots, which may have delayed the discovery.

Similar cases have occurred twice in the past. In 2014, dozens of maggots were found in the nostrils of an 82-year-old B suffering from dementia, and in 2020, 28 maggots were found inside the mouth of an elderly person in his 80s who was in a coma due to a traffic accident, which was reported to the academic community.