ABSTRACT
Fly larvae infesting the organs and tissues of people or animals are referred to as myiasis. Specific cases of myiasis are clinically defined by the areas affected; for example, there may be traumatic (wound), gastric, rectal, auricular, and urogenital myiasis, among others. Myiasis can be accidental, when fly larvae occasionally find their way into the human body, or facultative, when fly larvae enter living tissue opportunistically after feeding on decaying tissue in neglected, malodorous wounds. Myiasis can also be obligate, in which the fly larvae must spend part of their developmental stages in living tissue. Obligate myiasis is the most serious form of the condition from a pathogenic standpoint and constitutes true parasitism. Accidental enteric myiasis generally occurs from ingesting fly eggs or young maggots on uncooked foods or previously cooked foods that have been subsequently infested. Prevention and good sanitation can avert much of the accidental and facultative myiasis occurring in the industrialized world.
