The Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) is involved in the production of maggots for clinical therapy, a method of treating non-healing or infected wounds.
A wound is normally defined as chronic or non-healing if it takes basically more than three weeks to heal and this normally presents a huge burden for Kenyans and at times, they are very difficult to manage.
The therapy, also known as Maggot Debridement Therapy (MDT), involves using sterilised fly larvae (maggots) that feed on dead tissue and bacteria in a wound, effectively cleaning it and promoting healing.
Paul Ngare, from the Biotechnology Research Institute at KALRO Muguga and who works in Pharmacology and Microbiology research department, says they have been working on various technologies, including maggot therapy. "We use the green butterfly larvae to manage chronic wounds.