Watch out!

November 7, 2019 9:22 AM

"The woman had just rounded a corner while running along a steep trail in coastal California in February 2018 when she charged face-first into an unpleasant surprise: a swarm of flies. The pesky bugs quickly engulfed her, forcing her to swat them away from her face and even spit some out of her mouth. But little did she know, things were about to get much worse." (Washington Post; or here's the same story in Gizmodo. Be warned that even the URLs are not safe for life.)

Though there have been only two recorded occurrences of the parasite showing up in humans, researchers say the relatively short time period between the first and second case suggests that “this may represent an emerging zoonotic disease in the United States,” according to the paper in Clinical Infectious Diseases (October 2019). Have fun jogging.

posted by RedOrGreen (31 comments total)

"It's unlucky," one doctor said about the rare occurrence. "We don't want people to worry about getting eye worms every time they go running."
posted by RedOrGreen at 9:25 AM on November 7, 2019 [8 favorites]

Could be worse. Could be leeches.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2019

Even Dr. Glaucomflecken is upset about this:

Today I learned there’s an insect that can fly into your eye while you’re jogging or riding a bike and can dump larvae onto your conjunctiva within seconds if you don’t brush it away fast enough ok anyhoo have a good night everybody
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:33 AM on November 7, 2019 [15 favorites]

While it may just be a ‘fluke’ event

Can't be: Thelazia are nematodes, whereas Trematoda are flatworms.
posted by zamboni at 9:49 AM on November 7, 2019 [31 favorites]

“While it may just be a ‘fluke’ event that two cases have occurred within a year or two of each other, it does raise the possibility that something might have changed in the ecology of T. gulosa in the USA to cause it to start occasionally infecting humans,” Bradbury said.

This reads like one of the brief snippets of alarming news that the protagonist ignores at the beginning of a zombie movie.
posted by invitapriore at 10:23 AM on November 7, 2019 [31 favorites]

Aaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaa
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

I like how the Gizmodo article says that the ringworms are "no longer than a half-inch in size," as if half an inch of worm is a small amount IN YOUR EYEBALL.

I repeat my initial reaction.
posted by Mchelly at 10:25 AM on November 7, 2019 [10 favorites]

researchers say the relatively short time period between the first and second case suggests that “this may represent an emerging zoonotic disease in the United States,” according to the October article.

A lot of ewwww packed into one word there.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:42 AM on November 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

I'm feeling very aggrieved that is happening on the northern Pacific coast. I thought it was too cold for the really horrifying bugs here.
posted by grandiloquiet at 10:57 AM on November 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

I thought it was too cold for the really horrifying bugs here.

FWIW, the first place I ever encountered botflies in the wild was in Alaska.

Climate change is also changing the calculus on this quickly.
posted by ryanshepard at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

I feel completely vindicated in my decision to give up jogging.
posted by tuesdayschild at 11:10 AM on November 7, 2019 [19 favorites]

Time to go into the jogging goggles business, with optional air filter mask for smoky days.
posted by Bee'sWing at 11:11 AM on November 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

Since reading Oldroyd's The Natural History of Flies as a teenager, flies have made me way more nervous than wasps or spiders.

Also, toothaches used to be blamed on 'worms' — I leave to your imagination how that confusion could have arisen.
posted by jamjam at 11:25 AM on November 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

Ann: Jogging is the worst, Chris. I mean, I know it keeps you healthy, but God, at what cost?
posted by axiom at 11:28 AM on November 7, 2019 [12 favorites]

Ha, a swarm of flies, how bad could it... oh... my... god...
posted by Splunge at 11:54 AM on November 7, 2019 [6 favorites]

Time to go into the jogging goggles business, with optional air filter mask for smoky days.

Welcome to the future, where we're all living in the Zone from the Stalker games.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:13 PM on November 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

I liked this sentence from the Vice article:
Still, anyone who suspects they might have a worm infection in their eye should see a medical professional, he added—the symptoms are conjunctivitis and feeling a worm in your eye.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:14 PM on November 7, 2019 [23 favorites]

“There were adult male and female worms in this woman’s eye, and they’d obviously been able to mate,” Bradbury said. “It’s quite romantic in a way, isn’t it?”

Definitely the next breakout romcom.
posted by jeather at 12:26 PM on November 7, 2019 [9 favorites]

Also don't forget about the artist who painted the worms in his eyes.
posted by jeather at 12:31 PM on November 7, 2019

the artist who painted the worms in his eyes.
My favorite Thomas Ligotti novella.
posted by vocivi at 12:39 PM on November 7, 2019 [2 favorites]

I, for one, welcome our new eye-larvae overl--- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
posted by slkinsey at 12:55 PM on November 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

Time to go into the jogging goggles business, with optional air filter mask for smoky days.

Joggles, surely.

Please cut me in on the loot - I could really use it.
posted by ryanshepard at 12:55 PM on November 7, 2019 [17 favorites]

No, those are jean goggles.
posted by tobascodagama at 12:57 PM on November 7, 2019 [14 favorites]

> Bonura stressed that while “nobody wants to have a worm in their eye that they have to take out,” the parasites aren’t dangerous and the chances of experiencing the nightmarish ordeal are slim.

Just to be safe, I've decided to end my campaign to be a world-class, champion trail runner. My sincerest apologies to all of my followers and supporters. Unfortunately, I will not be able to refund your generous donations but stay tuned for updates on my recently purchased Ferrari LaFerrari.
posted by Godspeed.You!Black.Emperor.Penguin at 1:33 PM on November 7, 2019 [3 favorites]

My favorite Thomas Ligotti novella.

I thought it was a Belle & Sebastian song.
posted by trillian at 4:36 PM on November 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'll tell my wife about this. Then we'll reminisce about the cat that came into her vet clinic twenty years ago with increasingly bizarre neurological symptoms, until it died, and a necropsy found a cuterebra living in its brain.

Fucking worms, man. My immune system is underrated.
posted by fantabulous timewaster at 4:39 PM on November 7, 2019 [1 favorite]

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
posted by sarcasticah at 4:52 PM on November 7, 2019

With all this warning I still clicked the link and barfed in my mouth a little why do I do this my life is hard enough as it is
posted by St. Peepsburg at 8:19 PM on November 7, 2019 [4 favorites]

Why did I look up cuterebra and WHY did I click on a video called "Cuterebra up a kitten's nose"?
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:31 PM on November 7, 2019 [5 favorites]

Nope nope nope nope nope. So much nope. Behold the field in which I grow my nopes and see that it is barren because I have noped this whole thing with all the nopes I had, including the ones you left in the fridge etc.
posted by halcyonday at 1:14 AM on November 8, 2019 [2 favorites]

In every Metafilter thread with noping, there's always someone to stand up for the animal being noped.

Have we found the first animal that's too much even for Metafilter?
posted by clawsoon at 8:57 AM on November 8, 2019

I thought it was a Belle & Sebastian song.
posted by trillian

Ooh, get me away from here, I've got a worm in my eye...

More like Kate Bush, "The Man With The Worm In His Eyes"
posted by fiercecupcake at 9:48 AM on November 8, 2019