Myth Blaster – The Case of Breast Larvae Infestations

The following was sent to CJ, Wisconsin for the Myth Blaster …

… This is disgusting. Forward to all females! Wash your bras before you wear them! Please make it a habit from this point forward to wash your just-purchased undergarments before wearing them. This is sensitive. 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 specializes in dermatology. Unfortunately, the doctor was on vacation. She waited for two weeks and finally was able to reach 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 larvae 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 deeper than she had originally thought, for these larvae were feeding off the fat, tissue, and even the milk canals of her breast. Please share with as many women and men that you know. Our undergarments are made in different countries all over the world. They sit in boxes and go through many hands and exchanges before we purchase them. Please wash all newly purchased bras and underwear before wearing them. We do not know what parasites are in our clothing when we buy them.

This one is obvious and the Myth Blaster verdict is, of course – False – a definite hoax.

If you have received this in an email or if you look at the posting at Snopes, you can tell that the photo (I didn’t reproduce it here because it is too disturbing) is absolutely altered, so without any further evidence this is a hoax – but of course, there is more to it …

Snopes:

This item is another example of a common Internet phenomenon: Someone makes an image available on-line, the picture begins to circulate through e-mail forwards, the original attribution or explanation for the image gets lost along the way (or was never provided), people begin to make up stories to explain the origin of the now-sourceless picture, and those fabricated explanations become attached to the image as it continues to circulate. … This image appeared on the Internet back in June 2003 (on a web site with a collection of other manipulated photographs); at that time it carried no explanation at all … In 2005 someone combined the picture … with an existing video clip that seemingly shows maggot-like creatures being removed by forceps from a woman’s infected breast, and in November 2005 we began seeing versions that claimed the patient had developed her condition due to the flooding of New Orleans caused by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Hoax-Slayer declares that the “Breast Larvae Infestation from Undergarments” is a hoax. This site goes into more scientific detail than Snopes:

 

Cordylobia anthropophaga eggs can be deposited in soil or wet and dirty clothing that is hung out to dry, and the article advises that good personal hygiene and ironing clothes before wearing can be effective preventative measures against infestation. While eggs can be present in soiled clothing, their presence in brand new, store bought clothing seems fairly unlikely.

Urban Legends and Folklore [this one has an additional photo, including a link to the video]:

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 … 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.

There has to be really sick people who would spread this hoax around the Internet, and if this were true, there would be several articles about it in medical journals and bulletins from the National  Center for Disease Control (CDC).