Infestation of Larvae in Human Breast
Netlore Archive: Emailed image and video purport to document the medical case of a female anthropologist who failed to seek treatment for a rash and wound up with an infestation of larvae in her breast
Description: Email flier
Circulating since: 2003 (image) / 2005 (video)
Status: Partly true / Fake photo
Email example contributed by Belinda P., 20 April 2006:
(WARNING: GRAPHIC MEDICAL IMAGES BELOW)
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Fwd: Wash before Wearing! It is horrible. Guys tell your wife, sisters, girlfriends, and girl cousins wash bra before wearing. ALL PLEASE WASH ALL BRAS, UNDERWEAR WHEN YOU BUY BEFORE WEARING THEM. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT PARASITE IS IN OUR CLOTHES WHEN WE BUY THEM. FORWARD TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW. LET ME FORE WARN YOU THIS IS SO SQUIMISH, I FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS CRAWLING ALL OVER ME EVEN AS I SEND THIS TO YOU. BE AWARE. IT IS SO GROTESQUE. PLEASE WASH YOUR UNDERWEAR BEFORE WEARING. PREFERABLY IN BOILING HOT WATER. This is not for the weak; I have never seen anything like this. Read the article first before looking at the picture and film. This looks horrible. Oh my God!!!!!!! Ladies this could happen to you and Guys this could happen to your wife, girlfriend, partner so please BEWARE,and also warn others. It has been reported that this is happening in Zimbabwe as well, please make sure you iron your undergarments before you wear them and make sure that your clothes are ironed when they are dry and not damp. The picture is horrible but I felt that I should share with you. After anthropologist Susan McKinley came back home from an expedition in South America, she noticed a very strange rash on her left breast. Nobody knew what it was and she quickly dismissed it believing that the holes would leave in time. Upon her return she decided to see a doctor after she started developing intense pains. The doctor, not knowing the exact severity of the disease, gave her antibiotics and special creams. As time lapsed the pain did not subside and her left breast became more inflamed and started to bleed. She decided to bandage her sores however as Susan's pain grew more intense she decided to seek help from a more certified doctor. Dr. Lynch could not diagnose the infection and told Susan to seek the aid of one of his colleagues who specialized in dermatology whom was sadly on vacation. She waited for two weeks and finally was able to react the dermatologist. Sadly,a life changing event was about to unfold during her appointment. To Miss McKinley's surprise, after she removed the bandages, they found larva growing and squirming within the pores and sores of her breast. Sometimes these wicked creatures would all together simultaneously move around into different crevices. What she didn't know was that the holes were in fact, deeper than she had originally thought for these larvae were feeding off the fat, tissue, and even milk canals of her bosom.  Click to Enlarge Image  Click to View Video |
Comments: This message has three distinct components:
- The text, which appears to have been fabricated.
- The image, which was almost certainly fabricated.
- The video, which is authentic, though completely unrelated to the text and image.
The image first showed up on the Internet, uncaptioned, in June 2003. As snopes.com debunker David Mikkelson has demonstrated, it appears to be the product of combining elements from two separate images, one of a female breast and the other of a lotus seed pod.
The cautionary tale about anthropologist Susan McKinley and the larvae infestation she purportedly experienced in South America began circulating with the image in August 2003.
'Myiasis of the breast' is a real medical condition
The video - which is not only authentic but proves that larvae infestations of the breast, though extremely rare, can actually occur - was downloaded from the Web site of a medical journal and attached to the email in late 2005. It originally accompanied an article entitled "Furuncular Myiasis of the Breast Caused by the Larvae of the Tumbu Fly (Cordylobia Anthropophaga)." The case, which occurred in Nigeria, not South America, is described as follows:
We report a 70-year-old woman who presented with a week history of itchy multiple discharging sinuses of the right breast. The sinuses contained wriggling larvae of C. anthropophaga. Fourteen larvae were extracted from the breast and the sinuses healed quite well after the extraction.
Note well that although the particulars of the Susan McKinley email remain unsubstantiated, its anonymous author does know a thing or two about circumstances promoting furuncular myiasis of the breast. "Please make sure you iron your undergarments before you wear them and make sure that your clothes are ironed when they are dry and not damp," the email warns. Compare that to the journal article's explanation of how the 70-year-old patient in Nigeria became exposed: "She usually spreads her washed dresses on a line near the bush and does not iron them before wearing them."
More horrible infestations:
Brain Maggots/Sushi Worms
Disturbing images of what appears to be a worm infestation of a live human brainDoctors Find Live Worm in Patient's Eye
When they operated, what was thought to be a growth or cyst actually turned out to be a live worm; what was thought to be mere dust in the patient's eye was actually an insect's eggMaggots and Metaphors: A Case Study in Necrophilia
A stomach-wrenching example of how folktales express our deep-seated fearsIndian Boy Urinates Live Beetles
The unbelievable-but-apparently-true saga of 13-year-old Chandan Goswami of India, the boy who urinated live, winged beetlesThe Dread Candiru
"Another variation on the maggots in the brain story was one I heard about people inhaling items through their nose, such as string, and bringing it through their mouths to 'brain floss'..."
Sources and further reading:
Furuncular Myiasis of the Breast Caused by the Larvae of the Tumbu Fly (Cordylobia Anthropophaga)
BioMed Central, 29 February 2004Breast Rash
Urban Legends Reference Pages, 11 September 2003
Last updated: 04/20/06
