Myiasis

• Infestation of fly larvae
• Wound myiasis is caused with by blowflies (eat the dead flesh) or screwworms (eat live flesh)
• Most common cause is Dermatobia hominis in New World, and Cordylobia anthropophaga in Africa

Species	Epidemiology	Lesion			Clinical Clues
		Number	Maggots	Location
Dermatobia hominis	common, in Latin America	1	1	exposed sites	pain, with history of insect bite
Cordylobia anthropophaga	common, in Africa	multiple	1	covered sites	inflammatory reaction, more common in children and during rainy season
Cordylobia rodhaini	rare, in Africa	multiple	1	covere sites and lower limbs
Cuterebra species	rare, in North America	1	1	face, scalp, neck, shoulder	pruriginous papule, migratory, more common in children and during summer months
Wohlfahrtia vigil	rare, in North America	multiple	≤5	head, neck, and skin folds	patch before furuncle, more common in infants and from June to September
Wohlfhahrtia magnifica	rare, in Old World	≤5	≤25		paroxysms of sharp pain, eosinophilia
Hypoderma species	rare, in northern hemisphere	1	1	head, neck, and upper chest or back	more common in winter months

Further Reading

• Myiasis. Clin Microbiol Rev. 2012;25(1):79-105. doi: 10.1128/CMR.00010-11