When Mango Flies Attack!

A few weeks ago I noticed two large, dark red bumps on my back just below my right shoulder blade. At first I thought they were just really bad mosquito bites. Lately my house has developed a propensity to leave many different bug bites and stings on my body. I've been in a constant mode of itching for literally the past two months. It doesn't help that I live out in a rural area and basically have an open air house. Even with a mosquito net, critters find their way into my bed and feed.

Anyways, back to the mosquito bites. I had been planning on traveling to Peace Corps medical in Kampala for other reasons. When I arrived, I showed them what I presumed to be bad bug bites. The nurse examining me, Anni, immediately exclaimed, "Hm, I wonder if it is the mango flies."

Turns out it was. And I had two small worms, the offspring of the mango fly, living in my skin. How did they get there? Mango Flies like to lay their eggs in cool, dark, wet places. So the rainy season is the most common time for laying eggs. The most likely explanation is that the mama mango fly laid her eggs in some of my wet t-shirts as they were hanging on the clothesline drying. I take the clothes inside, put on a dry t-shirt, the eggs hatch, and the newly born worms burrow their way into their hosts skins (in this case, me).

How did nurse Anni confirm they were mango fly worms? The worms breathe air, and need air to survive. Once inside your skin, they breathe through a small hole in your skin that they create themselves. When nurse Anni applied some Vaseline to my skin to cover up the two bumps, she covered up their breathing tube and the worms began to panic and move around. She could see them and I could feel them moving around in my skin.

From there the procedure evolved to removing the worms from my torso. Once the worms are deprived of air, they burrow up to the surface of your skin. From there, you squeeze them out like popping a pimple. Mine proved to be a bit more difficult to remove and we needed the assistance of a razor blade and some tweezers. Nonetheless, they were removed.