Live maggots are being increasingly used to clean wounds by the NHS amid the threat of antibiotic resistance threatening patients’ well-being … According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, the treatment – which involves applying sterilised fly larvae to wounds to eat dead tissue – was common practice in the first half of the 20th century, but faded with the use of antibiotics in the 1940s … However, thanks to antibiotic resistance, maggots are again being used in the NHS and overseas. The paper reports that superbugs kill around 700,000 people a year, a figure predicted to reach 10 million by 2050 … read more
Tag: maggots
An Aussie Researcher Insists Maggots Are the Best Way to Heal Wounds
“Maggots are fantastic,” he says. “They eat all the dead and decaying tissue in the wound… [and] remove bacteria by eating them and digesting them, and through their excretions and secretions that they place into the wound.” … Frank explains that these “anti-microbial” properties of the humble maggot keep the infection under control and allow the body to properly heal the wound. The process is known as “debridement”: the removal of dead or infected tissue that in turn improves the healing potential of the healthy tissue. The maggot then disinfects the wound by secreting anti-bacterial substances, and stimulates the production of new, fresh capillaries over the top … read more
IMR team receives prestigious award for wound healing with maggots
KUALA LUMPUR: A research team from the Institute of Medical Research (IMR) that made a breakthrough in wound healing with the use of maggots has been conferred the Dr Lee Jong-Wook Memorial Prize for Public Health at the 71st World Health Assembly (WHA).
The World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland made the announcement on Friday (May 25), said Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
The WHA president conferred the prize to lead researcher Dr Nazni Wasi Ahmad, from the IMR, for her exemplary contributions in Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT).
It is a type of biotherapy using live, sterile fly larvae or maggots in non-healing wound of a human or animal to remove dead cells and reduce bacterial contamination of the wound and stimulate healing, he said.
“It is a safe, effective and affordable alternative treatment that is available at any time and in any healthcare setting, mainly primary healthcare facilities, to treat diabetic foot ulcers.” said Dr Noor Hisham in a statement