Flies and the mouth

Abstract

Oral infections caused by flies are rarely encountered in clinical practice, and consequently, there is a paucity of information in the medical and dental literature about these conditions. In the present article, we present a concise review on oral myiasis or fly-blown disease. A variety of fly species can infest the oral tissues and produce an exotic clinical picture. Oral myiasis is mainly encountered in the tropics and subtropics, but can also be encountered in the western part of the world due to the increase of globalization, immigration, and global warming. Commonly-reported symptoms of oral myiasis include pain, swelling, itchy sensation, and feeling of something moving in the mouth. The surgical debridement of infected tissue with the removal of maggots is the treatment of choice in most cases of oral myiasis.

Opportunistic Oral Infections

“…9,10 Also, not all microbial species within a similar clade are pathogenic to humans. Some are nonpathogenic, or only pathogenic to nonprimates and seen in veterinary medicine.…”

Furuncular Myiasis Affecting the Lower Lip of a Young Patient

“…Some of them attach their eggs to mosquitoes that transmit the larvae via their bites. Other flies' larvae (known as screwworms) can enter skin through bare feet or attach themselves to clothes and then burrow into the skin of the human; and some flies deposit their larvae in, on, or near a wound (11). It is suggested that the botfly Dematobia hominis does not lay the eggs directly on the host.…”

“…In a recent literature review, Singh et al (4) described approximately 37 different fly species belonging to ten families as responsible worldwide for the onset of human myiasis and the most frequently reported were those from the family Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae, Oestridae, Muscidae, Psychodidae, Syrphidae, Phoridae, Drosophilidae, Dryomyzidae and Gasterophilidae. Regarding oral myiasis, species that have already been reported include Cochliomyia hominivorax, Oestrus ovis, Wohlfahrtia magnifica, Chrysomya bezziana, Hypoderma (11).…”

“…The anterior maxillary and mandibular gingiva represent the most common sites, most likely due to accessibility of flies and different local, systemic and environmental factors, which predispose to oral infestation, including poor oral hygiene, periodontal diseases, suppurating lesions, mouth breathing, anterior open bite, lip incompetence, trauma, mental impairment, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, neurological deficits, alcoholism, poor food hygiene, low socioeconomic status, humid warm weather and travel to endemic areas (11,12).…”

Oral myiasis in older adult with severe Alzheimer’s disease

“…Myiasis is usually treated by Ivermectin administration, a drug that is effective against many types of parasites, in humans and other mammals. This drug eliminates parasites after their palsy and death, followed by its mechanical removal with forceps or tweezers . Furthermore, antibiotics can also be used to avoid the possibility of secondary infections .…”