Read more about this disease, some with Classification – Types – Signs and symptoms – Genetics – Pathophysiology – Diagnosis – Screening – Prevention – Treatment and management – Cures and much more, some including pictures and video when available.
Myiasis (pronounced /’ma??s?s/ or /ma?’a??s?s/) is an animal or human disease caused by parasitic dipterous fly larvae feeding on the host’s necrotic or living tissue. Colloquialisms for Myiasis include fly-strike and fly-blown.
German entomologist Fritz Zumpt describes myiasis as “the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which at least for a period, feed on the host’s dead or living tissue, liquid body substances, or ingested food.”
Blowfly strike, known as myiasis, is a common disease in sheep, especially in areas where there are hot and wet conditions. The female flies lay their eggs on the sheep in damp, protected areas soiled with urine and faeces, mainly on the sheep’s breech (buttocks). It takes approximately 8 hours to a day for the eggs to hatch, depending on the conditions. This results in sores as the larvae lacerate the skin; this is the primary reason for the early removal of lambs’ tails. The larvae then tunnel into the host’s tissue causing irritating lesions. After about the second day bacterial infection occurs and if left untreated causes toxemia or septicemia. This leads to anorexia and weakness and if untreated will lead to death. Blowfly strike accounts for over $170 million a year in losses in the Australian sheep industry and so prevention measures such as mulesing are practiced. Infestation of vulvar area with larvae and maggots is called Vulvar Myiasis.
Two different classifications of myiasis can be adopted:
There are three main fly families causing economically important myiasis in livestock and also, occasionally, in humans:
Other families occasionally involved are:
The adult flies are not parasitic, but when they lay their eggs in open wounds and these hatch into their larval stage (also known as maggots or grubs), the larvae feed on live and/or necrotic tissue, causing myiasis to develop. They may also be ingested or enter through other body apertures.
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