Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Abstract

Lucilia sericata is one of the most studied species in forensic entomology due to its widespread distribution, forensic importance as well as medical use. The growth and development stage of maggots is often used to determine the post‐mortem interval in forensic cases. L. sericata can cause myiasis in humans who are not able to maintain personal hygiene due to age or medical condition and can therefore be used to determine the time period of neglect. The influence of the temperature on the maggot development has been examined in various studies. Different examinations on the effects of toxic substances on the maggot development and survival have been conducted in order to test the influence and resulting deviations. In this study, the effects of different therapeutical doses of the antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin were examined on L. sericata in order to determine and compare deviations in maggot development and survival. The used antibiotics did not significantly influence the maggot weight and length. A significant delay in the time of pupation has been determined in the treatments with high concentrations of levofloxacin. The mortality was significantly increased in all treatments with antibiotics compared to the control, whereby the survivability of all treatments remained over 80%. Because of the high doses needed to produce an effect, we concluded that an overestimation of the post‐mortem interval is unlikely but higher antibiotic concentrations or possible interactions with other medications could increase the maggot development time.

Effects of antibiotics ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the growth of Protophormia terraenovae (Diptera: Calliphoridae)

“…The effects differed significantly depending on the examined species as levofloxacin decreased the maggot size, delayed the time to start pupation and increased the survivability of Calliphora vomitoria. In contrast, the antibiotics decreased the survivability of Lucilia sericata and did not significantly alter the maggot length and weight [16].…”

“…Only high concentrations of levofloxacin caused a delay of the pupation time of Lucilia sericata and all antibiotic treatments caused an increase of the mortality [16]. Although all three species belong to the family Calliphoridae, the effects of the used antibiotics differ significantly.…”

“…An examination of liver spiked with methylparaben revealed that the maggot development is delayed, the size of the pupae is decreased and the pupal mortality is increased by 9% [14]. The influence of ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on the Calliphoridae species Lucilia sericata and Calliphora vomitoria was examined by Preußer et al [15,16]. The In addition to the forensic use, the medical benefit of maggot therapy is also increasingly researched [11,34].…”

“…However, the antibiotics caused and significant increase of the length and weight of Protophormia terraenovae. The required time to reach the third instar of Protophormia terraenovae was reduced by an average of 24 h by levofloxacin, whereas the transition to the third instar of Calliphora vomitoria was delayed by levofloxacin by 10 h. Different effects of the rearing conditions were also examined in the survivability as single antibiotic treatments improved the survivability of Protophormia terraenovae and Calliphora vomitoria but decreased the survivability of Lucilia sericata [15,16]. Due to the secretion with the urine, levofloxacin can be accumulated near excretory organs [33].…”

“…A study on the effects of methylparaben on the maggot development revealed a prolonged development time, as well as a reduced size of the pupae and an increased pupae mortality [14]. Effects of antibiotics on the maggot development of Protophormia terraenovae haven't been tested yet, however Preußer et al (2021Preußer et al ( , 2023 examined the effects of ceftriaxone and levofloxacin on maggot development of Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) and Calliphora vomitoria (Linnaeus, 1758) [15,16]. The effects differed significantly depending on the examined species as levofloxacin decreased the maggot size, delayed the time to start pupation and increased the survivability of Calliphora vomitoria.…”