Cordylobia anthropophaga (African tumba fly)

Introduction

Etiologic agent of furuncular myiasis

Epidemiology

• dozens of eggs are deposited on sand or drying laundry that is contaminated with urine or sweat

Pathology

• larvae hatch on contact with the body, penetrate the skin & produce boils from which they emerge 8-9 days later

Clinical manifestations

• uncomfortable lesions with a central breathing pore that emits bubbles when submerged in water

Management

• manual expression of larvae after air pore is coated with petrolatum to suffocate larvae & induce them to emerge

More general terms

• diptera (flies, mosquitoes, midges)

Additional terms

• myiasis