Love a maggot

The Challenge

Most people recoil at the thought of maggot therapy and stigma surrounding them is preventing people benefiting from their therapeutic use. However, clinical grade maggots can turn a stagnant ulcer into a clean and healthy healing wound within a matter of days.

THE METHOD

Professor Yamni Nigam has dedicated years of research into medicinal maggots, embracing opportunities to breakdown the stigma by engaging with communities and organisations to "Love a Maggot". 

The Impact

• Research undertaken at Swansea University has found that maggots can produce their own anti-bacterial agents that are secreted into a wound. Researchers are currently exploring whether one of the agents in maggot secretions has the potential to become a new antibiotic for use with other infections, not just wounds.
• Medicinal maggots have been brought to the small screen through advising the production team of drama Casualty on an episode which involved maggots effectively helping to clean the wound of a patient. Spreading the message about maggot therapy through such a flagship programme was a massive boost to the Love a Maggot campaign.
• Dr Nigam has changed many, many people’s minds about using maggots for medicinal purposes.