File under: horrifying things that can happen to you on an adventure.

This is a video of a bunch of American girls on some sort of mission trip in Uganda. They’re just sitting around, chatting, having a good time extracting mango fly larvae from each others’ skin. There are plenty of videos of similar exorcisms on Youtube, but this one is especially good because of the subjects – these girls had no idea what they were in for, but they handle it like champs. This, my friends, is an adventure.

I like the closing line on their description, too: “This is Team Uganda 2009. We’re hardcore!” Indeed you are.

The mango fly, also known as the putzi or tumbu fly, is native to East and Central Africa. It’s something like the botfly‘s less disgusting cousin, as even though they burrow into human flesh the larvae tend to be smaller and less painful to remove. It lays its eggs on soft, wet surfaces exposed to open air, which is exactly what your clothes on a clothesline are for a few hours after washing. The eggs hatch and the larvae burrow into the skin next to the clothing as it’s worn.

Mango fly eggs can be killed by thoroughly ironing or machine-drying your clothes, but becoming a host isn’t the end of the world. Apply a bit of vaseline to the bump to block their breathing tube, wait a few minutes and squeeze. As long as the wound is kept free of infection after the larva has been removed there’s no danger at all from these terrible little monstrosities – an infection would kill them, so they tend to keep very clean while they’re in there.

You can read more about mango fly removal here: Mango Fly / Putzi Fly / Tumbu Fly – a Practical approach to dealing with the little buggers.