Diptera causing myiasis in man

Abstract

Myiasis is the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which, at least for a certain period, feed on the host's dead or living tissue, liquid body-substances or ingested food (Zumpt, 1965). The different forms of myiasis have been classified in two ways. Firstly, in clinical terms, based upon the part of the host's body that is infested, and secondly, in parasitological terms, according to the type of host-parasite relationship (Patton, 1922a). The first classification can provide a convenient short-cut to identification of the fly species concerned for practical diagnosis, but the second gives a better understanding of the biology of the fly as a guide to treatment or prevention as well as providing information on the evolution of the habit. A clinical classification of myiasis based on the parts of the host affected, but which also takes account of the parasite-host relationship, is given in Table 12.1.