Dermatobia hominis 5 23a.jpg

Taxonomy: f. Oestridae
Animal: Dermatobia hominis 5 23a.jpg
Sites: Skin
Comment:
Dermatobia hominis (bot or warble fly) lava (maggot) in lesion. This maggot was removed with some host tissue from the arm of a South American tourist. When the adult lands on a warm blooded host she lays egg. The young larva emerges from the egg and tunnel perpendicularly into the skin. Eventually local tissue destruction and toxic waste produce throbbing pain and intense itching. A composite of morphological features, the lesion and the patient history led to the diagnosis. The maggots are different from other parasites in skin in that the tegument may be sclerotised with cuticulised spines and hooks of characteristic size, shape and spacing , the muscles are striated, presence of tracheae as seen in slides 5.21-5.24b. The maggot stage of these bot flies feed on dead or living tissues and are a serious pest of cattle and as seen here occasionally in humans, particularly in Central and South America.

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