Their passion for the consumption of dead flesh makes the maggots of certain fly species uniquely beneficial to human health. Man is subject to countless ailments, among the most disconcerting and painful of which are open sores and wounds.

Chronic wounds often develop in patients with underlying conditions such as diabetes or vascular disease. These wounds tend to be full of dead and infected tissue, and often become long-standing, non-healing ulcers – desperately unpleasant for the patients who suffer them. In many cases, these wounds can worsen, and necessitate the amputation of parts of, or even whole, limbs.

However, the application of clinical grade maggots can turn this around. Often used when all other treatments have failed, newly hatched larvae can turn a stagnant ulcer into a clean and healthy healing wound within a matter of days.

Maggot therapy
Nonetheless, our immediate response to a mass of wriggling maggots is likely to be disgust. The thought of willingly inviting them to crawl in and feed on our wounded bodies is, for many, profoundly disturbing. In the main, maggots are despised creatures, inviting a plethora of negative emotional responses ranging from squeamishness, disgust and disdain to absolute fear.

Many patients are afraid that the maggots themselves are dirty, and may cause further infection. But maggots are reared under special strict and sterile conditions in specialised laboratories, and in the UK, they are available on prescription, either to be applied freely onto a wound or in sealed net bags.

The positive benefits of applying maggots to festering wounds have been known for centuries, dating back to biblical times, and traversing numerous ancient tribes and cultures. Remarkable, you say, but these are modern times and surely we have modern treatments which work just as well? Well, sadly not. There are no medical wound-management treatments which can compete with the multi-actions of living maggots in a wound.

So exactly how marvellous are these tiny wrigglers? Scientists worldwide are still working out exactly how maggots do what they do, but what we have found out so far is simply amazing.

Maggots do not have teeth – instead they secrete enzymes which coat and break down dead tissue. Then, by moving their small hooked mouth parts over their meal, they are able to suck up the digested material. So efficient are they at eating, that a young maggot can clean up a wound within just two to three days.

Maggots do more than just eat dead flesh. We have found that collections of maggot secretions (their 'spit and sweat'), can kill several species of bacteria. Moreover, we have discovered that a very small antibacterial molecule – Seraticin – is released in these secretions.