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-Such problems are not peculiar to Australia and New Zealand; they occur world wide, especially in countries where livestock, particularly sheep, are kept under hot, wet, conditions, including most of Africa and the Americas, ranging from the cold temperate regions in the north, to corresponding latitudes in the south. Nor is myiasis peculiar to sheep; [[Cochliomyia|screwworm]] fly ([[Cochliomyia hominivorax]] in particular) caused upwards of US$100 million in annual damages<ref>{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Dennis S.|title=The economic importance of insects|year=1997|publisher=Springer|pages=102|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RKQIAqMyBJgC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102|isbn=0412498006}}</ref> through its deadly attacks on cattle and goats before [[sterile insect technique]] eliminated it from large regions.
+Such problems are not peculiar to Australia and New Zealand; they occur world wide, especially in countries where livestock, particularly sheep, are kept under hot, wet, conditions, including most of Africa and the Americas, ranging from the cold temperate regions in the north, to corresponding latitudes in the south. Nor is myiasis peculiar to sheep; [[Cochliomyia|screwworm]] fly ([[Cochliomyia hominivorax]] in particular) caused upwards of US$100 million in annual damages<ref>{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Dennis S.|title=The economic importance of insects|year=1997|publisher=Springer|page=102|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RKQIAqMyBJgC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102|isbn=0412498006}}</ref> through its deadly attacks on cattle and goats before [[sterile insect technique]] eliminated it from large regions.
-{| class="wikitable" border="1"
+{| class="wikitable"
 |-
-Wound myiasis occurs when fly larvae infest open wounds. It has been a serious complication of war wounds in tropical areas, and is sometimes seen in neglected wounds in most parts of the world. Predisposing factors include poor socioeconomic conditions, extremes of age, mental retardation,psychiatric illness, alcoholism, diabetes, and vascular occlusive disease. <ref name="">Wound myiasis in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma. Namazi MR, Fallahzadeh MK. ScientificWorldJournal. 2009 Nov 1;9:1192-3. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2009.138.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19882087],</ref><ref>http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/u4220b/u4220b07.htm</ref><ref>El-Azazy, O.M.E. 1989. Wound myiasis caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in Libya. Vet. Rec., 124: 103</ref><ref>Not the Usual Suspects: Human Wound Myiasis by Phorids. T. E. Huntington, David W. Voigt, and L. G. Higley. Journal of Medical Entomology Jan 2008 : Vol. 45, Issue 1, pg(s) 157-159 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[157:NTUSHW]2.0.CO;2</ref><ref name="Clinic2010">{{cite book|author=Cleveland Clinic|title=Current Clinical Medicine: Expert Consult - Online|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WHeY9woTzdoC&pg=PT1396|accessdate=22 April 2013|date=13 August 2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1-4377-3571-0|pages=1396–}}</ref>
+Wound myiasis occurs when fly larvae infest open wounds. It has been a serious complication of war wounds in tropical areas, and is sometimes seen in neglected wounds in most parts of the world. Predisposing factors include poor socioeconomic conditions, extremes of age, mental retardation,psychiatric illness, alcoholism, diabetes, and vascular occlusive disease. <ref name="">Wound myiasis in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma. Namazi MR, Fallahzadeh MK. ScientificWorldJournal. 2009 Nov 1;9:1192-3. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2009.138.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19882087],</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/u4220b/u4220b07.htm |title=Screwworm flies as agents of wound myiasis |publisher=Fao.org |date= |accessdate=2013-05-26}}</ref><ref>El-Azazy, O.M.E. 1989. Wound myiasis caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in Libya. Vet. Rec., 124: 103</ref><ref>Not the Usual Suspects: Human Wound Myiasis by Phorids. T. E. Huntington, David W. Voigt, and L. G. Higley. Journal of Medical Entomology Jan 2008 : Vol. 45, Issue 1, pg(s) 157-159 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[157:NTUSHW]2.0.CO;2</ref><ref name="Clinic2010">{{cite book|author=Cleveland Clinic|title=Current Clinical Medicine: Expert Consult - Online|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WHeY9woTzdoC&pg=PT1396|accessdate=22 April 2013|date=13 August 2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1-4377-3571-0|pages=1396–}}</ref>

{{Infobox Disease
 | Name           = Myiasis
 | Image          = Miasis human.jpg
 | Caption        = Cutaneous myiasis in the neck of a human
 | DiseasesDB     = 29588
 | ICD10          = {{ICD10|B|87||b|85}}
 | ICD9           = {{ICD9|134.0}} 
 | ICDO           = 
 | OMIM           = 
 | MedlinePlus    = 
 | eMedicineSubj  = 
 | eMedicineTopic = 
 | MeshID         = D009198
}}
'''Myiasis''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ˈ|m|aɪ|.|ə|s|ɨ|s}} or {{IPAc-en|m|aɪ|ˈ|aɪ|.|ə|s|ɨ|s}}) is the infestation of the body of a live human being or other vertebrate by [[fly]] larvae that feed on its [[Biological tissue|tissue]]. When the attack is directed against dead or [[necrotic]] tissue, the condition is not necessarily harmful and the effects may be of value as [[maggot therapy]]. Colloquialisms for myiasis include '''flystrike''', '''blowfly strike''', and the victim or the tissue may be described as '''fly-blown'''. The name of the condition derives from [[ancient Greek]] μυῖα (''myia''), meaning "fly".

Because other animals cannot react as effectively as humans to the causes and effects of myiasis, such conditions present a serious problem for [[livestock]] industries, causing severe economic losses worldwide.<ref>Otranto, Domenico. “The immunology of myiasis: parasite survival and host defense strategies.” Trends in Parasitology 17 (2001): 4.</ref> Although infestation by fly larvae is much more serious{{Vague|date=May 2012}} and more prevalent in other animals, it is relatively frequent in humans in rural, tropical and subtropical regions, and often may require medical attention.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334">John, David and Petri, William. Markell and Voge’s Medical Parasitology: 9th Edition. Missouri: Saunders Elsevier, 2006. p. 328-334.</ref>

Myiasis varies widely in the forms it takes and its effects on the victims. Such variations depend largely on the fly species and where the larvae are located. Some flies lay eggs in open wounds, other larvae may invade unbroken skin or enter the body through the nose or ears, and still others may be swallowed if the eggs are deposited on the lips or on food.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/>

==History of discovery==
[[File:Myiasis-cat.jpg|thumb|Myiasis in a cat's flesh]]
The Reverend [[Frederick William Hope]] coined the term myiasis in 1840 to refer to diseases resulting from dipterous larvae as opposed to those caused by other insect larvae (the term for this was scholechiasis). Hope described several cases of myiasis from Jamaica caused by unknown larvae, one of which resulted in death.<ref>“Introduction to Myiasis.” The Natural History Museum of London. <http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/myiasis-larvae/intro-myiasis/index.html>.</ref>

Even though the term myiasis was first used in 1840, such conditions have been known since ancient times. [[Ambroise Paré]], the chief surgeon to [[Charles IX of France|King Charles IX]] and [[Henry III of France|King Henry III]], observed that maggots often infested open wounds.<ref name="Sherman, RA 2000">Sherman, RA, Hall, MJR, and Thomas, S. “Medicinal Maggots: An ancient remedy for some contemporary afflictions.” Annual Review of Entomology 45 (2000): 55-81.</ref>

==Life cycle==
Myiasis, known as blowfly strike, commonly affects [[Domestic sheep|sheep]], especially where conditions are hot and wet. The life cycle in sheep is typical of the disease.  The female [[Fly|flies]] lay their eggs on the sheep in damp, protected areas of the body that are soiled with urine and feces, mainly the sheep's breech ([[buttocks]]). It takes approximately eight hours to a day for the eggs to hatch, depending on the conditions. The [[larva]]e lacerate the skin, causing sores. The larvae then tunnel through the sores into the host's [[Tissue (biology)|tissue]], causing irritating [[lesion]]s subject to infection.  After about the second day, [[bacteria]]l [[infection]] is likely and, if left untreated, causes [[Bacteremia|toxemia]] or [[septicemia]]. This leads to [[Anorexia (symptom)|anorexia]] and weakness and is generally fatal if untreated. Blowfly strike accounts for over [[Australian dollar|A$]]170 million a year in losses in the [[Australia]]n sheep industry so preventive measures such as [[mulesing]] are practised. Other surgical forms of intervention include the early removal of lambs' tails.  Maggots also commonly infest the vulvar area, causing the condition called [[vulvar myiasis]].

Such problems are not peculiar to Australia and New Zealand; they occur world wide, especially in countries where livestock, particularly sheep, are kept under hot, wet, conditions, including most of Africa and the Americas, ranging from the cold temperate regions in the north, to corresponding latitudes in the south. Nor is myiasis peculiar to sheep; [[Cochliomyia|screwworm]] fly ([[Cochliomyia hominivorax]] in particular) caused upwards of US$100 million in annual damages<ref>{{cite book|last=Hill|first=Dennis S.|title=The economic importance of insects|year=1997|publisher=Springer|page=102|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=RKQIAqMyBJgC&pg=PA102&lpg=PA102|isbn=0412498006}}</ref> through its deadly attacks on cattle and goats before [[sterile insect technique]] eliminated it from large regions.

==Classifications==
[[Germany|German]] [[Entomology|entomologist]] [[Fritz Konrad Ernst Zumpt|Fritz Zumpt]] describes myiasis as "the infestation of live human and vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae, which at least for a period, feed on the host's dead or living tissue, liquid body substances, or ingested food". For modern purposes however, this is too vague. For example, feeding on dead or necrotic tissue is not generally a problem except when larvae such as those of [[Cheese fly|flies in the family Piophilidae]] attack stored food such as cheese or preserved meats; such activity suggests [[Saprotrophic nutrition|saprophagy]] rather than parasitism; it even may be medically beneficial in [[Maggot therapy|maggot debridement therapy (MDT)]].

Currently myiasis commonly is classified according to aspects relevant to the case in question:
# The classical description of myiasis is according to the part of the host that is infected. This is the classification used by [[ICD|ICD-10]]. For example:<ref name="isbn0-697-26071-2">{{cite book |author=Janovy, John; Schmidt, Gerald D.; Roberts, Larry S. |title=Gerald D. Schmidt & Larry S. Roberts' Foundations of parasitology |publisher=Wm. C. Brown |location=Dubuque, Iowa |year=1996 |pages= |isbn=0-697-26071-2 |oclc= |doi= |accessdate=}}</ref> 
## [[dermis|dermal]]
## [[Subcutaneous tissue|sub-dermal]]
## [[cutaneous]] (B87.0)
### Creeping, where larvae burrow through or under the skin
### [[Boil|Furuncular]], where a larva remains in one spot, causing a boil-like lesion
## [[nasopharyngeal]] nose, sinuses or pharynx. (B87.3)
## [[Ophthalmology|Ophthalmic]] or [[human eye|ocular]] in or about the eye (B87.2)
## [[Ear|Auricular]] in or about the ear
## [[Stomach|gastric]], [[Rectum|rectal]], or [[intestinal]]/enteric for the appropriate part of the digestive system(B87.8)
## [[urogenital]] (B87.8).
# Another aspect is the relationship between the host and the parasite and provides insight into the biology of the fly species causing the myiasis and its likely effect. Thus the myiasis is described as either:<ref name="isbn0-697-26071-2"/>
## [[Obligate parasite|Obligatory]], where the parasite cannot complete its life cycle without its parasitic phase, which may be '''Specific''', '''Semispecific''', or '''Opportunistic'''. 
## [[Facultative parasite|Facultative]], incidental, or accidental, where it is not essential to the life cycle of the parasite; perhaps a normally free-living larva accidentally gained entrance to the host.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/> 
Accidental myiasis commonly is enteric, resulting from swallowing eggs or larvae with one's food.  The effect is called '''pseudomyiasis'''.<ref>Zumpt, Fritz Konrad Ernst; Myiasis in man and animals in the old world. Butterworth 1965</ref> One traditional cause of pseudomyiasis was the eating of maggots of [[Cheese fly|cheese flies]] in cheeses such as [[Stilton cheese|Stilton]]. Depending on the species present in the gut, pseudomyiasis may cause significant medical symptoms, but it is likely that most cases pass unnoticed.

==Vectors in humans==
There are three main [[Diptera|fly]] families causing economically important myiasis in livestock and also, occasionally, in humans:
* [[Calliphoridae]] (blowflies)
* [[Oestridae]] ([[Botfly|botflies]])
* [[Sarcophagidae]] (fleshflies)

Other families occasionally involved are:
* [[Anisopodidae]]
* [[Piophilidae]]
* [[Stratiomyidae]]
* [[Syrphidae]]

===Specific myiasis===
Caused by flies that need a host for larval development
* ''[[Dermatobia hominis]]'' (human botfly)
* ''[[Cordylobia anthropophaga]]'' (tumbu fly)
* ''[[Oestrus ovis]]'' (sheep botfly)
* ''[[Hypoderma (fly)|Hypoderma]]'' spp. (cattle botflies or ox warbles)
* ''[[Gasterophilus]]'' spp. (horse botfly)
* ''[[Cochliomyia hominivorax]]'' (new world screwworm fly)
* ''[[Chrysomya bezziana]]'' (old world screwworm fly)
* ''[[Auchmeromyia senegalensis]]'' (Congo floor maggot)
* ''[[Cuterebra]]'' spp. (rodent and rabbit botfly)

===Semispecific myiasis===
Caused by flies that usually lay their eggs in decaying animal or vegetable matter, but that can develop in a host if open wounds or sores are present
*''[[Lucilia (fly)|Lucilia]]'' spp. (green-bottle fly)
*''[[Cochliomyia]]'' spp. (screw-worm fly)
*''[[Phormia]]'' spp. (black-bottle fly)
*''[[Calliphora]]'' spp. (blue-bottle fly)
*''[[Sarcophaga]]'' spp. (flesh fly or sarcophagids)

Flesh flies, or ''sarcophagids'', members of the family ''Sarcophagidae'', can cause [[Intestine|intestinal]] myiasis in humans if the females lay their eggs on meat or fruit.

===Accidental myiasis===
Also called '''pseudomyiasis'''. Caused by flies that have no preference or need to develop in a host but that will do so on rare occasions. Transmission occurs through accidental deposit of eggs on oral or genitourinary openings, or by swallowing eggs or larvae that are on food.
*''[[Musca domestica]]'' (housefly)
*''[[Fannia (genus)|Fannia]]'' spp. (latrine flies)
*''[[Eristalis tenax]]'' (rat-tailed maggots)
*''[[Muscina]] spp.

The adult flies are not parasitic, but when they lay their eggs in open [[wound]]s and these hatch into their [[larva]]l stage (also known as [[maggot]]s or [[Larva|grub]]s), the larvae feed on live and/or necrotic tissue, causing myiasis to develop. They may also be ingested or enter through other body apertures.

== Clinical presentation in humans ==
How myiasis affects the human body depends on where the larvae are located. Larvae may infect dead, [[Necrosis|necrotic]] (prematurely dying) or living tissue in various sites: the skin, eyes, ears, stomach and intestinal tract, or in genitourinary sites.<ref>Ockenhouse, Christian, Samlaska, Curt, Benson, Paul, Roberts, Lyman, Eliasson, Arn, Malane, Susan, and Menich, Mark. “Cutaneous myiasis caused by the African tumbu fly.” Archives of Dermatology 126 (1990):199-202.</ref> They may invade open wounds and lesions or unbroken skin. Some enter the body through the nose or ears. Larvae or eggs can reach the stomach or intestines if they are swallowed with food and cause gastric or intestinal myiasis.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/>

Several different presentations of myiasis and their symptoms:<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Syndrome
! Symptoms
|-
|Cutaneous Myiasis
|Painful, slow-developing ulcers or furuncle- (boil-) like sores that can last for a prolonged period.
|-
|Nasal Myiasis
|Obstruction of nasal passages and severe irritation. In some cases facial edema and fever can develop. Death is not uncommon.
|-
|Aural Myiasis
|Crawling sensations and buzzing noises. Smelly discharge is sometimes present. If located in the middle ear, larvae may get to the brain.
|-
|Ophthalmomyiasis
|Fairly common, this causes severe irritation, edema, and pain.
|}

Nosocomial Myiasis refers to myiasis in a hospital setting. It is quite frequent, as patients with open wounds or sores can be infested if flies are present. To prevent nosocomial myiasis, hospital rooms must be kept free of flies.

Human ophthalmomyiasis, both external and internal, has been caused by [[botfly]] larvae.<ref name=botflycanada>{{cite journal|last=Lagacé-Wiens|first=Philippe|title=Human Ophthalmomyiasis Interna Caused by Hypoderma tarandi, Northern Canada|journal=Emerging Infectious Diseases|year=2008|volume=14|issue=1|url=http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/14/1/64.htm|accessdate=22 June 2011|doi=10.3201/eid1401.070163|last2=Dookeran|first2=Ravi|last3=Skinner|first3=Stuart|last4=Leicht|first4=Richard|last5=Colwell|first5=Douglas D.|last6=Galloway|first6=Terry D.|pages=64–6|pmid=18258079|pmc=2600172}}</ref>

==Wound Myiasis==

Wound myiasis occurs when fly larvae infest open wounds. It has been a serious complication of war wounds in tropical areas, and is sometimes seen in neglected wounds in most parts of the world. Predisposing factors include poor socioeconomic conditions, extremes of age, mental retardation,psychiatric illness, alcoholism, diabetes, and vascular occlusive disease. <ref name="">Wound myiasis in a patient with squamous cell carcinoma. Namazi MR, Fallahzadeh MK. ScientificWorldJournal. 2009 Nov 1;9:1192-3. doi: 10.1100/tsw.2009.138.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19882087],</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/ag/aga/agap/frg/feedback/war/u4220b/u4220b07.htm |title=Screwworm flies as agents of wound myiasis |publisher=Fao.org |date= |accessdate=2013-05-26}}</ref><ref>El-Azazy, O.M.E. 1989. Wound myiasis caused by Cochliomyia hominivorax in Libya. Vet. Rec., 124: 103</ref><ref>Not the Usual Suspects: Human Wound Myiasis by Phorids. T. E. Huntington, David W. Voigt, and L. G. Higley. Journal of Medical Entomology Jan 2008 : Vol. 45, Issue 1, pg(s) 157-159 doi: 10.1603/0022-2585(2008)45[157:NTUSHW]2.0.CO;2</ref><ref name="Clinic2010">{{cite book|author=Cleveland Clinic|title=Current Clinical Medicine: Expert Consult - Online|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WHeY9woTzdoC&pg=PT1396|accessdate=22 April 2013|date=13 August 2010|publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences|isbn=978-1-4377-3571-0|pages=1396–}}</ref>

== Diagnostics ==
Myiasis is often misdiagnosed in the United States because it is extremely rare and its symptoms are not specific. Intestinal myiasis and urinary myiasis are especially difficult to diagnose.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/>

Clues that myiasis may be present include recent travel to an endemic area, one or more non-healing lesions on the skin, itchiness, movement under the skin or pain, discharge from a central punctum (tiny hole), or a small, white structure protruding from the lesion.<ref name="Adisa 2004">Adisa, Charles and Mbanaso, Augustus. “Furuncular myiasis of the breast caused by the larvae of the Tumbu fly (Cordylobia anthropophaga).” BMC Surgery 4 (2004): 5.</ref> Serologic testing has also been used to diagnose the presence of botfly larvae in human ophthalmomyiasis.<ref name=botflycanada/>

==Control methods==
The first control method is preventive and aims to eradicate the adult flies before they can cause any damage and is called [[vector control]]. The second control method is the  treatment once the infestation is present, and concerns the infected animals (or humans).

===Prevention===
The principal control method of adult populations of myiasis inducing flies involves [[insecticide]] applications in the environment where the target livestock is kept. [[Insecticide|Organophosphorus]] or [[Insecticide|organochlorine]] compounds may be used, usually in a spraying formulation. One alternative prevention method is the [[Sterile insect technique|SIT]] (Sterile Insect Technique) where a significant number of artificially reared sterilized (usually through irradiation) male flies  are introduced. The male flies compete with wild bred males for females in order to copulate and thus cause females to lay batches of unfertilized eggs which can't develop into the larval stage.

One prevention method involves removing the environment most favourable to the flies, such as by [[docking (animals)|docking]] (removal of the tail). Another example is the [[crutching]] of sheep, which involves the removal of wool from around the tail and between the rear legs, which is a favourable environment for the larvae. Another more permanent practice which is used in some countries is [[mulesing]], where skin is removed from young animals to tighten remaining skin – leaving it less prone to fly attack.<ref name = "DPI SOP">{{cite web
|url = http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au/reader/aw-sheep/13-mulesing.htm
|publisher = New South Wales Department of Primary Industries 
|date = March 8, 2004
|accessdate = 2007-01-09
|title = Standard Operating Procedures - sheep Mulesing
|work = teacher's notes}}</ref> Activists including [[PETA]] and several celebrities have been campaigning to have farmers cease mulesing.

To prevent myiasis in humans, there is a need for general improvement of sanitation, personal hygiene, and extermination of the flies by insecticides. Clothes should be washed thoroughly, preferably in hot water, dried away from flies, and ironed thoroughly. The heat of the iron kills the eggs of myiasis-causing flies.<ref name="Adisa 2004"/>

===Treatment===
This applies once an infestation is established. In many circles the first response to cutaneous myiasis once the breathing hole has formed, is to cover the air hole thickly with petroleum jelly. Lack of oxygen then forces the larva to the surface, where it can more easily be dealt with. In a clinical or veterinary setting there may not be time for such tentative approaches, and the treatment of choice might be more direct, with or without an incision. First the larva must be eliminated through pressure around the lesion and the use of forceps. Secondly the wound must be cleaned and disinfected. Further control is necessary to avoid further reinfestation.

Livestock may be treated prophylactically with slow release [[Bolus (medicine)|bolus]]es containing [[ivermectin]] which can provide long term protection against the development of the larvae.

Sheep also may be [[sheep dip|dipped]], which involves drenching the animals in persistent insecticide to poison the larvae before they develop into a problem.

==Use of myiasitic maggots in medicine==

Throughout recorded history maggots have been used [[Therapy|therapeutically]] to clean out necrotic [[wound]]s, an application known as [[maggot therapy]].

Fly larvae that feed on dead tissue can clean wounds and may reduce bacterial activity and the chance of a secondary infection. They dissolve dead tissue by secreting digestive enzymes onto the wound as well as actively eating the dead tissue with “mouth hooks,” two hard, probing appendages protruding on either side of the "mouth".<ref name="Greer, Kathleen 2005">Greer, Kathleen. “Age-old therapy gets new approval.” Advances in Skin & Wound Care. January/February 2005.</ref> Maggot therapy{{spaced ndash}}also known as maggot debridement therapy (MDT), larval therapy, larva therapy, or larvae therapy{{spaced ndash}}is the intentional introduction by a health care practitioner of live, disinfected [[green bottle fly]] [[maggot]]s ([[larva]]e) into the non-healing skin and soft tissue wound(s) of a human or other animal for the purpose of selectively cleaning out only the necrotic (dead) tissue within a wound in order to promote wound healing.

Maggot therapy has a long history and [[prehistory]]. The indigenous people of Australia used maggot therapy, and so do the Hill Peoples of Northern Burma, and possibly the Mayans of Central America.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/> Surgeons in Napoleon’s armies recognized that wounded soldiers with myiasis were more likely to survive than those without the infestation. In the American Civil War, army surgeons treated wounds by allowing blowfly maggots to clean away the decayed tissue.

Dr. William Baer, an orthopedic surgeon at Johns Hopkins during the late 1920s, used maggot therapy to treat a series of patients with osteomyelitis, an infection of bone or bone marrow. The idea was based on an experience in [[World War I]] in which two soldiers presented to him with broken femurs after having lain on the ground for seven days without food and water. Dr. Baer could not figure out why neither man had a fever or signs of sepsis. He observed: “On removing the clothing from the wounded part, much was my surprise to see the wound filled with thousands and thousands of maggots, apparently those of the blow fly. The sight was very disgusting and measures were taken hurriedly to wash out these abominable looking creatures.” However, he then saw that the wounds were filled with “beautiful pink granulation tissue” and were healing well.<ref>Baer, William. “The treatment of chronic osteomyelitis with the maggot (larva of the blow fly).” Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery 13 (1931): 438-475.</ref>

Maggot therapy was common in the United States during the 1930s. However, during the second half of the twentieth century, after the introduction of antibiotics, maggot therapy was only used as a last resort for very serious wounds.<ref name="John 2006. p. 328-334"/> Lately maggots have been making a comeback due to the increased resistance of bacteria to antibiotics.

Although maggot therapy has been used in the US for the past 80 years, it was approved by the FDA as a “medical device” only in 2004 (along with leeches in the same year).<ref name="usatoday">Rubin, Rita. “Maggots and leeches: Good medicine.” USA Today 7 July 2004 < http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-07-07-leeches-maggots_x.htm>.</ref> Maggots were the first live organism to be marketed in the US according to FDA regulations, and are approved for treating neuropathic (diabetic) foot ulcers, pressure ulcers, venous stasis ulcers, and traumatic and post-surgical wounds that are unresponsive to conventional therapies. Before this, maggots were in fact being used but were unregulated. Richard Sherman, a doctor in Irvine, CA, is the best-known maggot therapy advocate and began treating patients with maggots in 1990.<ref name="usatoday" /> He is now the laboratory director of Monarch Labs, the first commercial producer of medical grade maggots. This lab has provided maggots and maggot therapy supplies since 1935.<ref>Maggot Therapy Project. Ed. Ronald Sherman. 2009. University of California Irvine Department of Pathology. 2 Feb. 2009 <http://www.healthaffairs.uci.edu/som/pathology/sherman/home_pg.htm>.</ref>

Today, there is an ever-increasing demand for medical maggots. In the US, demand for these fly larvae doubled after the FDA ruling. Maggot therapy is now used in more than 300 sites across the country.<ref name="Greer, Kathleen 2005"/> The American Medical Association and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recently clarified the reimbursement guidelines to the wound care community for medicinal maggots, and this therapy may soon be covered by insurance.<ref>Lloyd, Robin. “ Insurance may soon cover maggot therapy.” MSNBC 19 Nov. 2008 <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27808424/>.</ref> The larvae of the [[green bottle fly]] (a type of blow-fly) are now used exclusively for this purpose, since they preferentially devour only necrotic tissue, leaving healthy tissue intact. This is an important distinction, as most other major varieties of myiasitic fly larvae attack both live and dead wound tissue indiscriminately, effectively negating their benefit in non-harmful wound debridement. Medicinal maggots are placed on the wound and covered with a sterile dressing of gauze and nylon mesh. Too many larvae placed on the wound could result in healthy tissue being eaten.<ref name="Sherman, RA 2000"/>

== See also ==
* [[List of cutaneous conditions]]

==References==
{{Cleanup-link rot|date=January 2012}}
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
*[http://en.wikivet.net/Myiasis Myiasis], reviewed and published by [[WikiVet]]
*[http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/myiasis.html#intro Exotic Myiasis], [[University of Sydney]] Department of Medical Entomology
*[http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/projects/myiasis-larvae/index.html Identification key to species of myiasis-causing fly larvae], [[Natural History Museum]] (London)

[[Category:Sheep and goat diseases]]
[[Category:Arthropod infestations]]
[[Category:Veterinary entomology]]
[[Category:Parasitic infestations, stings, and bites of the skin]]

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