Flies that can cause cutaneous myiasis are known as blowflies, the best known species come from Central America, South America and Africa . These insects do not lay their eggs directly on the skin but they do so in other insects such as mosquitoes or they simply leave them on some surface (for example, hanging clothes) where they will then come into contact with someone’s skin.
These eggs develop into larvae that penetrate the skin, and can reach a size of 2.5 cm. Symptoms are movement in the area, rash and sometimes throbbing pain, luckily treatment is possible. The treatment consists of causing hypoxia to the larva, so that it has to come to the surface to breathe and at that moment proceed to the manual extraction with a forceps. In cases of extensive infection, ivermectin may be prescribed .
Myiasis in People
