Fly strike dermatitis in cats7/3/2023 ![]() ![]() Keys are available for the first and second larval stages of the facultative myiasis-producing flies (Zumpt, 1965). Adult Sarcophaga spp, often referred to as flesh flies, have a grey longitudinal striped thorax with a checker-board patterned abdomen. Sections of skin may be undermined and the movement of large numbers of active larvae may be observed and felt (Prescott, 1984).Īdult Calliphora spp, Phaenicia spp, Lucilia spp, and Phormia spp, often referred to as blowflies or bottle flies, are metallic blue, green, or black in color. These ulcers frequently merge to produce larger ulcers with scalloped edges. It is most commonly found around the perineal region or along the dorsal midline. Reports of this syndrome in cats are rare, although facultative myiasis probably does occur frequently.įacultative myiasis is often a condition of the skin. In the Hortus Sanitatis published in Antwerp, Belgium in 1521, there are woodcuts that imply that the authors were aware of the life cycle of flies flies would swarm on maggot-infested meat and would attack a dead or dying animal (Greenberg, 1973). ![]() Historical descriptions, however, are not restricted to man. In Job 7:5, the afflicted Job states, "My flesh is clothed with maggots and clods of dust, my skin rotted and fouled afresh." In Acts 12:23, it is recorded that King Herod died 5 days after being smitten with gangrene, during which time maggots bred in the gangrenous mass. "No sooner had she returned to Egypt, than she died a horrible death, her body seething with maggots while she was still alive." The Holy Bible alludes several times to maggots infesting human flesh. As early as 520 B.C., Herodotus, the "Father of History," described a case of facultative myiasis in a woman. The presence of live maggots in a wound or their escape from a living being's body is a condition that could not be confused with any other syndrome. Many human skin diseases in ancient times, although different in their cutaneous manifestations and etiologies, were grouped together under the catch-all term, "leprosy." Such was not the case for the presence of fly larvae (maggots) in the tissues or wounds of man or domestic animals. Facultative myiasis resulting from infestation by flies of the Musca, Calliphora, Phaenicia, Lucilia, Phormia, and Sarcophaga genera should be distinguished from obligatory myiasis resulting from primary myiasis producing species.įacultative myiasis is one of the oldest recorded diseases affecting man and domestic animals. Many species of fly larvae that normally breed in decaying meat or carrion may infest traumatic skin wounds of cats and produce a condition known as facultative myiasis. Myiasis is the term that describes the infestation of organs or tissues of humans or animals by fly maggots that, at least for a period of time, feed upon living, necrotic, or dead tissues or upon ingested food of the host. ![]()
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