An Accidental But Safe and Effective Use of <I>Lucilia cuprina</I> (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in Maggot Debridement Therapy in Alexandria, Egypt

Ancient and modern hybridization between Lucilia sericata and L. cuprina (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

“…It is well known that the use of just one gene can generally be taxonomically misleading as can be seen in the L. sericata / L. cuprina situation (Wallman et al, 2005;Harvey et al, 2008;Tourle et al, 2009;DeBry et al, 2010), especially if modern hybridisation is occurring at any appreciable rate. By using nuclear genes in conjunction with mitochondrial genes, a potentially misleading situation can be avoided (Rubinoff et al, 2006;Nelson et al, 2007;Roe & Sperling, 2007;Williams et al, 2008;Tantawi et al, 2010).…”

“…Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) is the species of choice for MDT (Altincicek & Vilcinskas, 2009;Vilcinskas, 2011), but the misidentification of Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830) and L. sericata for use in MDT and how best to supplement MDT colonies has raised the issue of species identification (Williams et al, 2008;Tantawi et al, 2010). Lucilia cuprina has recently been used successfully for MDT (Paul et al, 2009;Tantawi et al, 2010;Kingu et al, 2012) although this species is responsible for sheep-strike that causes losses to the wool and meat industries that amount to millions of dollars worldwide each year (Hepburn, 1943;Ullyett, 1945;Vogt & Woodburn, 1979;Heath & Bishop, 2006). Different populations of L. sericata show different degrees of cuprina-like attraction to sheep (Crombe, 1944;Cragg, 1956), but no clear pattern in this myiasis has been noted.…”

“…Molecular methods are useful in confirming the taxonomic status of these two species (Williams et al, 2008;Tourle et al, 2009;Tantawi et al, 2010). The use of more than one gene for taxonomic and phylogenetic studies is recommended as using only one gene may not give a true picture of relationships or patterns of gene flow (Sperling et al, 1994;Nelson et al, 2007;Whitworth et al, 2007;Tourle et al, 2009).…”

A Case of Breast Myiasis Caused by <i>Lucilia cuprina</i>

“…Larvae consume necrotic tissue in the wound, and accelerate wound healing by secreting antibiotic substances that kill pathogenic bacteria. Larvae must certainly remain sterile before treatment [13].…”

Cutaneous Myiasis: Is &lt;i&gt;Lucilia cuprina&lt;/i&gt; Safe and Acceptable for Maggot Debridement Therapy?

“…cutaneous, cavity and enteric myiasis) [1,2]. In some cases myiasis of wounds may be therapeutic [2][3][4][5][6].…”