Community stories about mango fly
FOURWAYS – Fourways community members share their experiences of mango fly in a bid to inform the community of what to look for.
The Fourways community, already aware of the presence of mango fly worms on some animals, have been sharing their own stories about the impact of the species of blow-fly.
Although only animal cases have been reported on so far, residents have contacted the publication with stories of human infection.
In the article, Warning: Mango Fly in the Fourways area, Week ending 27 April, the City of Johannesburg confirmed a case of mango fly infection being found in two pet Labradors. But humans are also potential victims, and in one case, a child may have contracted the boil-like growths caused by the flies.
Belle Ndima didn’t realise that she might have encountered mango fly herself before she read about it on the Fourways Review website.
“I was reading the article and I thought to myself, ‘that story is so familiar’,” Ndima said. She suspects her 14-month-old daughter Buyesile may have had a mango fly infection.
“My nanny mentioned that my daughter was feeling unwell with flu-like symptoms, and I also noticed she had these three insect bites on her back,” Ndima said.
“I tried to squeeze the bites and worms came out. She was very unwell, so I took her to a paediatrician in Morningside and he prescribed antibiotics for what he said was a cold-like sickness that had developed into mild infections.”
Ndima said the doctor didn’t seem fazed by the worms when she mentioned them, suggesting that the little girl had eaten dirt at some point and contracted something that way.
“The thing is, she’s not usually outside so I don’t think she ate any soil. We do have dogs in the yard though.”
The little girl still has a cough from a flu-like sickness that Ndima is not even sure is related to mango fly, but otherwise is doing better.
“I just want others to know what I went through in case they are facing the same thing.”
The fly species lays its eggs in the soil, and sometimes dry clothing left outside, according to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. Once the larvae hatch they will attach themselves to a human or animal, pierce the skin and develop inside a boil-like lesion which is formed on the host’s skin.
Once the larvae are ready to pupate (enter the phase before adulthood), they leave the lesion and fall to the ground where they will develop further and eventually breed. The process takes about 12 days.
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