bobdog, it sounds like you're enjoying your new "pets". I think it's hard for most people to understand the appeal of these cool bugs until you see them in action.
And now for the myaisis....
I've looked into this claim in the past and found only a handful of cases ever reported, anywhere. I believe the cases reported resulted in temporary gastrointestinal distress with no lasting illness. This isn't the same myaisis caused by botflies which intentionally seek out a host as part of their life cycle.
Here's the link to the full article you referenced:
A 7-year-old girl from Kati, Kuala Kangsar, Perak complained of vomiting for about 1-2 months. Subsequently, she vomited 3-4 live greenish "worms." Other than vomiting, she did not show any symptoms and was not anaemic.
Quote:
The route of infestation of H illucens larvae in the child is unclear. We speculate that she ingested food contaminated with eggs of H illucens prior to the onset of vomiting. According to Harwood & James," the infestation of H illucens in humans occurs mainly via accidental ingestion of decaying fruits and vegetables contaminated with larvae/eggs.
When I looked into this previously I concluded that the infected person was probably poor and was scavenging food from trash cans. As we know, BSF females seek out rotting food to lay their eggs near, not fresh food. BSF are found throughout densely populated regions, and the very small number of myiasis cases illustrates how unlikely this condition is. My guess is that this little girl ate a cluster of eggs, or some food that contained a concentrated number of newly hatched larvae which resulted in her being host to a large number of BSF. Of course if she swallowed hundreds of eggs/larvae it would take time to reject them all. She had been vomiting for a long time and they found 3-4 larvae in just one sample. I think if a person swallowed one or two whole live larvae that they might experience temporary discomfort but that they would pass the larvae relatively quickly. BSF larvae aren't designed to inhabit humans and have no mechanism to attach themselves.
It's sad that the little girl in that report was "vomiting for about 1-2 months". I think in the developed world we would be more likely to get to a doctor sooner for the recommended treatment which is a simple purgative.
In the normal operation of a BSF unit a person would rarely or never touch the grubs. The BioPod is designed so that you can throw scraps in the top of the unit and then remove the mature grubs from the collection bucket. There's no need to touch them if you don't want to. If on the other hand you want to use the juvenile grubs as bait or pet food you might be more inclined to handle them. I stick my hands into the colony almost daily to dig out a few choice grubs for bait. I always make it a point to rinse my hands and I'm never inclined to stick my fingers in my mouth immediately after handling the grubs. It's natural to want to wash after handling anything you touch in pile of waste material. As for specifically using an abrasive soap, it couldn't hurt, but I don't think it's necessary. Both the eggs and small grubs are extremely delicate when it comes to any type of pressure. Furthermore the grubs will do everything they can to get off of you so it's pretty much a team effort. They WILL NOT try to climb into your mouth.
I believe myiasis from BSF is extremely unlikely if you know the grubs are present as you would in a BioPod.
It's natural to want to wash after handling anything you touch in pile of waste material. As for specifically using an abrasive soap, it couldn't hurt, but I don't think it's necessary. Both the eggs and small grubs are extremely delicate when it comes to any type of pressure. Furthermore the grubs will do everything they can to get off of you so it's pretty much a team effort. They WILL NOT try to climb into your mouth.
