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A 2012 Review Says The Real Importance Of Human Myiasis Is Unknown

Reporting Cases Is Not Usually Required

Health Workers Judge Myiasis A Disease Of Minor Importance

The Larva And Dressings Are Usually Thrown Away Unexamined

In Some Countries Family Members Treat Patients At Home

That Lowers The Number Of Cases Seen In Clinics

So Risk For One Person Is Hard To Put In Numbers

What The Review Can Name Is Who Faces More Risk

Poor Hygiene And Low Socioeconomic Status Matter Most

Open Wounds With Pus Attract Female Flies To Lay Eggs

For Some Fly Species Sitting Or Lying On The Ground Matters

Climate Also Influences How Often Those Species Infest People

Wound Myiasis Has Its Own Groups Of People At Risk

Elderly People Without Proper Care Are More Prone To It

So Are Psychiatric Patients And People With Alcoholism Lacking Care

Patients Who Cannot Keep Flies Away Are Named In Particular

Poor Eyesight May Keep An Infestation From Being Noticed

Natural Disasters May Be Another Risk Factor

Among Skin Conditions Lesions With Ulcers Matter More

Thickened Outer Skin Comes Second

How Common Myiasis Is Also Changes From Place To Place

Myiasis Is Found Worldwide

It Is More Abundant In Poor Tropical And Subtropical Regions

Where It Is Not Endemic It Can Rank Fourth Among Travel Skin Diseases

Myiasis Is Defined As Fly Larvae Infesting Living Humans Or Animals

Besides People The Human Botfly Infests Cattle Pigs Cats And Dogs

Horses Sheep Other Mammals And A Few Birds Are Hosts As Well

In Argentina A Cattle Review Names Cattle As Its Main Host

The Larval Lumps Are Found Mostly On The Back Shoulders And Ribs

Residents Workers And Visitors In Endemic Areas Are Often Infested

Other Myiasis Flies Infest Their Own Range Of Animals

Wild Rats Are The Main Hosts Of The African Tumbu Fly

It Also Infests Monkeys Squirrels Antelopes And Leopards

Dogs Cats Rabbits Goats And Chickens Are Among Its Domestic Hosts

Humans Are Hosts Of The Tumbu Fly Too

The Sheep Nasal Botfly Infests Sheep And Goats

In People It Is The Most Common Cause Of Eye Surface Myiasis

There Is No Record Of It Completing Its Life Cycle In A Human Eye

A Separate Cattle Botfly Infests Wild And Domestic Cud Chewing Animals

Human Cases Occur In People Who Are Close To Cattle

Horse Botflies Infest Horses Zebras Elephants And Rhinoceroses

They May Affect People Who Handle Horses

Rodent Botflies In North America Infest Rodents

Humans Are Occasional Hosts For Them

Two Flesh Fly Species Infest Cats Dogs Rabbits Ferrets Mink And Foxes

In Nearly All Their Hosts Only The Very Young Get Infested

Their Larval Mouth Hooks Are Usually Too Weak For Adult Skin

About 1.49 Billion Cattle Worldwide Are Exposed To External Parasites

Flies Mites And Ticks Are The Most Costly Of Them

One Of Those Costly Flies Is The Human Botfly

Human Botfly Larvae Damage The Skin And Tissue Below It In Cattle

That Causes Weight Loss And Lower Leather Quality

In Brazil The Latest Botfly Estimate Is $383 Million In Annual Losses

It Counts 40.6 Grams Lost Per Larva Each Year Plus Leather Damage

In Misiones Argentina Lumps Can Mark 65% Of A Hide Surface

Argentina Has No National Estimate Of Those Losses

The New World Screwworm Is Another Fly That Infests Cattle

Its Larvae Feed On Living Tissue In Wounds

Screwworm Myiasis Was Found In 96.2% Of Brazil Municipalities In 1983

Brazil Puts Its Screwworm Cattle Losses At About $340 Million

Most Of That Comes From Calves That Die

The Figure Leaves Out Labor And Treatment Costs

Uruguay Estimated Its Annual Losses At $43.1 Million

The Work Of Healing Wounds In The Field Made Up 60% Of That Cost

Sheep Deaths Made Up 20% And Cattle Deaths 12%

Argentina Put Its Screwworm Losses Above $50 Million A Year

That Estimate Leaves Out Lost Weight Gain And Animal Deaths

The Human Botfly May Also Cause Losses Through Infested Tourists

Brazil Has The Most Reports Of Tourists With Botfly Larvae

The Cattle Review Calls That Possible Loss Still Neglected