Maggot Wrangler

Maggots are often found crawling in trash or feeding on dead animals. Many people find these wormlike creatures icky. Not Yamni Nigam. She knows that these wriggling larvae, which are the immature form of flies, can save people’s lives.

Unlike wild maggots, medicinal maggots are raised in labs under sterile conditions, free from germs, so they’re incredibly clean. The species we use is called Lucilia sericata, also known as the green bottle blowfly. It can’t survive on living tissue. That makes it perfect for therapy, because it works quickly and precisely to remove only the dead or infected parts of the wound, leaving other areas alone.

Doctors or nurses place the maggots in a small mesh bag on the injured area. At this point, the insects are newly hatched and about the size of a grain of rice. The bag is left in place for four to seven days while the maggots consume any dead tissue.

Maggots don’t have teeth, so they don’t chew. Instead, their saliva contains enzymes that break down tissue outside the bag, making it easier for them to digest. These enzymes contain bacteria-fighting molecules that disinfect the wound and promote healing. Just a few days of maggot therapy can save an infected limb from having to be amputated, or surgically removed. It can even prevent someone from dying from an infection.

I’ve always been fascinated by insects. I have a Ph.D. in medical entomology, and my research focused on diseases insects can transmit. When I started teaching anatomy, I learned about maggot therapy and how people had been using it for centuries. Many ancient cultures, including the Maya people who lived in Central America thousands of years ago, relied on maggots to help heal wounds. So I set up a maggot research group to look more closely at the science behind this therapy.

Now I teach students and health professionals about maggots. I also run a lab focused on researching these amazing insects. I start every day by saying hello to the flies and making sure they’re laying eggs. I still love other bugs—I even have pet stick insects—but maggots are my favorite!

Lots of people—even nurses and doctors—are squeamish about maggots. It’s the “Creepy-Crawly Syndrome.” The goal of the campaign is to change that perception by showing people just how amazing maggots are.

We do a lot of events where we talk to the public and health-care professionals about the therapy. We also visit elementary schools, where we let students hold sterile maggots in their hands. Many kids say the maggots look and feel like tiny caterpillars.

Try looking at this little creature in a different way. Maggots are nature at its very best. In nature, maggots are doing something amazing: helping get rid of decaying things in the environment. By utilizing the maggots’ natural cleanup skills and the amazing enzymes in their saliva, we can heal wounds and even save lives.