Myiasis | Description, Symptoms, & Treatment - Britannica

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External Websites

• Centre for Health Protection - Myiasis
• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Myiasis
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - About Myiasis
• Medscape - Myiasis
• WebMD - What is Myiasis?
• Natural History Museum - Introduction to myiasis

myiasis maggot infestation Ask Anything Homework Help Written and fact-checked by Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 12, 2026 •History Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything

myiasis, infestation of the body of humans and other animals with the larvae (maggots) of certain species of flies. Myiasis typically occurs in tropical regions, where flies are particularly abundant. Infestation may be intestinal or superficial.

Intestinal myiasis results from ingestion of food contaminated with eggs or larvae of flies and may produce cramps, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Within a short time, however, the organisms are destroyed by gastrointestinal juices and passed in the feces.

Superficial myiasis occurs when flies, attracted to open or infected wounds or to odoriferous discharges from the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, or vagina, lay their eggs in these areas. The larvae hatch and feed on the involved tissues, sometimes causing extensive or even fatal damage. Examples of species of flies known to infect open wounds include the housefly (Musca domestica) and the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax); the spotted flesh fly (Wohlfahrtia magnifica) may infest the eye, ear, nose, or mouth. The larvae of some species, such as the mango, or tumbu, fly (Cordylobia anthropophaga), penetrate unbroken skin, especially of infants, producing boil-like lesions or creeping eruptions.

Related Topics: maggot housefly fly true screwworm Cochliomyia hominivorax (Show more) On the Web: Medscape - Myiasis (Feb. 12, 2026) (Show more) See all related content Britannica Quiz 44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes

Treatment of superficial infestation involves removing the larvae by irrigation and mechanical extraction. Because larvae feed on dead tissue and foreign matter in open wounds, they were sometimes deliberately introduced to supplement surgical removal of dead or diseased tissue and to prevent infection.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.