Imported myasis: seven cases of cutaneous parasitism caused by Dermatobia hominis

Myasis is the parasitism of organs and tissues of warm-blooded vertebrates by flies larvae. D hominis is a flie geographically restricted to tropical America from Mexico to northern Argentina, Tbe adult flie, which is not hem atophagous, needs to put its eggs on the abdominal surface of hematophagous arthropods which serve as carriers of future larvae which are deposited on the skin of the hosts (mammals, birds and accidentally men) when biting. S even patients (two females) aged 7 to 35 years old, of different nationalit ies, recalled receiving mosquito bites, after staying in tropical American areas in the previous forty days. They presented furuncle-like lesions in e xposed surfaces of the body. These lesions, 2-3 cin long, pruritic and mild ly tender, broke and released a serous or serohematic flit id. Through the resulting opening, it was possible to partially observe the larva. Larvae w ere extracted by manual pressure (4) or surgical incision (3) and identifie d as D hominis larvae, Diagnosis of dermatobiasis, an imported myasis, must be based on the characteristics of lesions and the previous residence in e ndemic areas of America (Rev MM Chile 2001; 129: 786-8).