First reported case of Hypoderma diana Brauer, 1985 (Diptera: Oestridae)‐associated myiasis in a horse in Germany

Abstract

Summary A massive infestation with warble fly larvae was observed in a mare in Lower Saxony, Germany. From a herd of 20 horses, only a single mare accidently escaped the routine treatment with macrocyclic lactone in autumn and showed the myiasis infestation next year in January. Eighteen subcutaneous nodules were found on the back (n = 2), ribs (n = 3), flank (n = 5) and croup (n = 8). Deer, the specific hosts of the warble fly Hypoderma diana, was abundant on this farm and some other risk factors for the hypodermiosis are discussed herein. This is the first report of myiasis caused by H. diana in horses in Germany. This massive warble fly infestation in a horse in Germany reported here is important to alert equine health professionals concerning the prevention of this disease in the routine parasite control programme.

Temporal and spatial spread of Hypoderma actaeon infection in roe deer from peninsular Spain determined by an indirect enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay

“…This species exhibits an exceptional adaptability to different species of Cervidae; thus, in addition to the European roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), which is considered its main host, it was also identified in red deer ( Cervus elaphus ), fallow deer ( Dama dama ), Eurasian elk ( Alces alces ), Dybowski sika deer ( Cervus nippon dybowskyi ) (Pavlásek & Minář, ) and reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus ) (Kettle & Utsi, ). Although rarely, it has been also detected infesting some Bovidae, such as the chamois ( Rupricapra rupricapra ) and the mouflon ( Ovis musimon ) (Minář, ), and even other orders of ungulates, such as wild boars ( Sus scofra ) (Pavlásek & Minář, ) and horses (Kudrnáčová et al ., ; Borges et al ., ).…”

Equine cutaneous gasterophilosis in an era of selective parasite control

“…There are reports of the prevalence of Gasterophilus in horse populations worldwide, all based on post‐mortem findings and mainly related to G. intestinalis and G. nasalis (Lyons et al, 2018; Niedźwiedź et al, 2013; Otranto et al, 2005; Sequeira et al, 2001). To our knowledge, no epidemiological reports studying the effect of bot fly species on the skin have been published recently, although other types of myiasis affecting equines have been reported (Borges et al, 2019; Otranto et al, 2004; Yan, Zhang, et al, 2019). Although cutaneous lesions are thought to be a self‐limiting and rarely symptomatic condition (Scott & Miller, 2011), the lesions described here fully disappeared in the 3 weeks following treatment, even though they were long‐standing.…”