Myiasis Health Dictionary

Myiasis: From 4 Different Sources


An infestation by fly larvae, which is primarily restricted to tropical areas. In Africa, the tumbu fly lays eggs on wet clothing left outside; the larvae hatch and penetrate the skin to cause boil-like swellings. Other flies may lay eggs in open wounds, on the skin, or in the ears or nose. Sometimes, larvae penetrate deeply into the tissues. Intestinal infestation can occur after eating contaminated food. Preventative measures include keeping flies away from food, covering open wounds, and ironing clothes that have been dried outdoors.

Myiasis of the skin is treated by placing drops of oil over the swelling. The larva comes to the surface, where it can be removed with a needle. In deeper tissues, surgery may be needed. Intestinal myiasis is treated with a laxative. myo- A prefix denoting a relationship to muscle (as in myocarditis).

Health Source: BMA Medical Dictionary
Author: The British Medical Association
Infestation of the SKIN, deeper tissues or the INTESTINE by larvae of the tropical tumbu ?y.
Health Source: Dictionary of Tropical Medicine
Author: Health Dictionary
Infection of mammals (including humans) by certain dipterous larvae (maggots). Various clinical forms recognised, including cutaneous myiasis, intestinal myiasis, ophthalmomyiasis, urinogenital myiasis and sanguinivorous myiasis.
Health Source: Medical Dictionary
Author: Health Dictionary
n. an infestation of a living organ or tissue by maggots. The flies normally breed in decaying animal and vegetable matter; myiasis therefore generally occurs only in regions of poor hygiene, and in most cases the infestations are accidental. Various genera may infect humans. *Gasterophilus, *Hypoderma, *Dermatobia, and Cordylobia (see tumbu fly) affect the skin; Fannia invades the alimentary canal and the urinary system; *Phormia and *Wohlfahrtia can infest open wounds and ulcers; *Oestrus attacks the eyes; and Cochliomyia invades the nasal passages. Treatment of external myiases involves the destruction and removal of maggots followed by the application of antibiotics to wounds and lesions.
Health Source: Oxford | Concise Colour Medical Dictionary
Author: Jonathan Law, Elizabeth Martin

Fly

A two winged insect of the Order Diptera. Includes the housefly and the myiasis - causing flies. Also includes the mosquitoes and the tsetse flies.... fly

Insects And Disease

Relatively few insect species cause disease directly in humans. Some parasitize humans, living under the skin or on the body surface (see lice; chigoe; myiasis). The most troublesome insects are flies and biting insects. Flies can carry disease organisms from human or animal excrement via their feet or legs and contaminate food or wounds.

A number of serious diseases are spread by biting insects.

These include malaria and filariasis (transmitted by mosquitoes), sleeping sickness (tsetse flies), leishmaniasis (sandflies), epidemic typhus (lice), and plague (rat fleas).

Mosquitoes, sandflies, and ticks can also spread illnesses such as yellow fever, dengue, Lyme disease, and some types of viral encephalitis.

Organisms picked up when an insect ingests blood from an infected animal or person are able to survive or multiply in the insect.

Later, the organisms are either injected into a new human host via the insect’s saliva or deposited in the faeces at or near the site of the bite.

Most insect-borne diseases are confined to the tropics and subtropics, although tick-borne Lyme disease occurs in some parts of the.

The avoidance of insect-borne disease is largely a matter of keeping flies off food, discouraging insect bites by the use of suitable clothing and insect repellents, and, in parts of the world where malaria is present, the use of mosquito nets and screens, pesticides, and antimalarial tablets.... insects and disease

Tumbu Fly Bites

A cause of myiasis.... tumbu fly bites

Dermatobia

n. a genus of nonbloodsucking flies inhabiting lowland woods and forests of South and Central America. The parasitic maggots of D. hominis can cause a serious disease of the skin in humans (see myiasis). The maggots burrow into the skin, after emerging from eggs transported by bloodsucking insects (e.g. mosquitoes), and produce painful boil-like swellings. Treatment involves surgical removal of the maggots.... dermatobia

Hypoderma

n. a genus of non-bloodsucking beelike insects – the warble flies – widely distributed in Europe, North America, and Asia. Cattle are the usual hosts for the parasitic maggots, but rare and accidental infections of humans have occurred (see myiasis), especially in farm workers. The maggots migrate beneath the skin surface, producing an inflamed linear lesion similar to that of *creeping eruption.... hypoderma

Insect

n. a member of a large group of mainly land-dwelling *arthropods. The body of the adult is divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen. The head bears a single pair of sensory antennae; the thorax bears three pairs of legs and, in most insects, wings (these are absent in some parasitic groups, such as lice and fleas). Some insects are of medical importance. Various bloodsucking insects transmit tropical diseases, for example the female Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria and the tsetse fly transmits sleeping sickness. The bites of lice can cause intense irritation and, secondarily, bacterial infection. The organisms causing diarrhoea and dysentery can be conveyed to food on the bodies of flies. See also myiasis.... insect

Maggot

n. the wormlike larva of a fly, which occasionally infests human tissues (see myiasis). Disinfected maggots may be used to assist in the cleaning and healing of serious wounds by feeding on dead tissue.... maggot

Oestrus

n. a genus of widely distributed nonbloodsucking flies, occurring wherever sheep and goats are raised. The parasitic larvae of O. ovis, the sheep nostril fly, may occasionally and accidentally infect humans. By means of large mouth hooks, it attaches itself to the conjunctiva of the eye, causing a painful *myiasis that may result in loss of sight. This is an occupational disease of shepherds. Larvae can be removed with forceps following anaesthesia.... oestrus

Phormia

n. a genus of non-bloodsucking flies, commonly known as blowflies. The maggot of P. regina normally breeds in decaying meat but it has occasionally been found in suppurating wounds, giving rise to a type of *myiasis.... phormia

Sarcophaga

n. a genus of widely distributed non-bloodsucking flies, the flesh flies. Maggots are normally found in carrion or excrement but occasionally females will deposit their eggs in wounds or ulcers giving off a foul-smelling discharge; the presence of the maggots causes a serious *myiasis. Rarely, maggots may be ingested with food and give rise to an intestinal myiasis.... sarcophaga

Tumbu Fly

a large non-bloodsucking fly, Cordylobia anthropophaga, widely distributed in tropical Africa. The female fly lays its eggs on ground contaminated with urine or excreta or on clothing tainted with sweat or urine. The maggots are normally parasites of rats, but if they come into contact with humans they penetrate the skin, producing boil-like swellings (see also myiasis). The maggots can be gently eased out by applying oil to the swellings.... tumbu fly

Wohlfahrtia

n. a genus of non-bloodsucking flies. Females of the species W. magnifica and W. vigil deposit their parasitic maggots in wounds and the openings of the body. This causes *myiasis, particularly in children.... wohlfahrtia



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