Chrysomya Bezziana Research Articles

Forensic and ecological significance of necrophagous insects: Insights from animal carcasses, human cadavers, and myiasis patients

Necrophagous insects, including flies and beetles, play pivotal roles in decomposition, ecology, and forensics. Their diversity and activities vary across environments, necessitating comprehensive studies for understanding and management. The aim of the study is to investigate insect infestation on animal carcasses, human cadavers, and myiasis patients to enhance ecological, forensic, and medical entomological understanding, aiding in ecosystem management, forensic investigations, and disease control.Various species of flies and beetles were found associated with animal carcasses, human cadavers, and myiasis patients, as indicated by the comprehensive study. On animal carcasses, notable fly species included Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart, 1842), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794), Lucilia cuprina (Wiedemann, 1830), and Sarcophaga sp., while beetles such as Dermestes maculatus (De Geer, 1774), Necrobia rufipes (Fabricius, 1781), Saprinus quadrigatattus (Fabricius, 1798), Saprinus splendens (Paykull, 1811), Saprinus optabilis (Marseul, 1855), Saprinus chalcites (Iliger, 1807), and Omorgus sp. (Erichson, 1847) were also observed. Similarly, human cadavers exhibited a presence of flies like Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819), Chrysomya rufifacies (Macquart, 1842), Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794), and Sarcophaga dux (Thomson, 1869). In cases of myiasis patients, flies including Chrysomya megacephala, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel, 1858), and Chrysomya bezziana (Villeneuve, 1914) were identified.These findings underscore the diverse range of insect species involved in carcass decomposition, forensic investigations, and medical entomology, illustrating their crucial roles in ecological processes, forensic assessments, and disease management.

Molecular epidemiology of the Old World screwworm fly (OWSF) in Iraq, and the genetic structure of various OWSF populations worldwide

Despite being endemic in Iraq, no reports have been published in the past 10 years to update the molecular epidemiology of the Old World screwworm fly (OWSF), Chrysomya bezziana, in this country. In the present study, 130 sheep from 10 Iraqi governorates were found infected with C. bezziana larvae, whose identities were PCR-confirmed based on the cytochrome b (Cytb) gene, and 23 isolates from various tested governorates were successfully sequenced. Although most isolates (n = 20) belonged to the common haplotype circulating in Iraq, two new haplotypes were detected. Significant changes in OWSF epidemiology in Iraq were also suggested, since infestations were detected, for the first time, in Nineveh governorate. Isolates of the present study were combined to those previously published from Iraq and worldwide, collected after searching the GenBank, and various genetic and population structure analyses were conducted. These isolates displayed a great statistically significant value when tested for the purifying (negative) selection, suggesting the limited occurrence of genetic variations, which was evidenced by the high sequence conservation (C = 0.937) value detected. A few isolates from Africa were revealed during our search, and clustered in a separate lineage other than that of the Asian isolates. The latter displayed different genetic variation patterns when compared. For example, isolates from geographically separate regions, e.g., the Gulf Arab countries and South-Eastern Asia had marked genetic differences. On the other hand, isolates from regions with close geographic proximity (the Gulf Arab countries and Iran) had limited genetic subdivision. This is not the case when comparing isolates from 10 islands in the Indonesian Archipelago. Populations from Sumatra and Sumba were isolated and displayed high genetic variations toward the other populations. On the contrary, populations from Sulawesi, Lombok and Sumbawa displayed limited genetic variations. This is particularly important, since it can help detecting the dynamics of establishing the sterile insect technique over various regions as an effective control strategy against the OWSFs.

Ophthalmomyiasis Externa and Importance of Risk Factors, Clinical Manifestations, and Diagnosis: Review of the Medical Literature.

This review aims to describe and compare the risk factors, clinical course, diagnosis, and parasitologic features of external ophthalmomyiasis. We also discuss the different preventive measures and the effect of global warming in a large case series reported from January 2000 to December 2022. We perform a literature review of reported cases of external ophthalmomyiasis to determine the clinical characteristics, therapeutic management, and information on the organisms that most commonly cause external ophthalmomyiasis. A total of 312 cases of external ophthalmomyiasis were recorded. The most common causative organism was Oestrus ovis (Linnaeus) (Diptera: Oestridae), accounting for 72.1% of cases, followed by Dermatobia hominis (Linnaeus Jr. in Pallas, 1781) (Diptera: Oestridae) at 5.4%, Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) at 0.96%, and Chrysomyia bezziana (Villeneuve) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) at 0.96%. Before experiencing symptoms, 43.6% of cases reported having direct contact with flies or being hit in the eye, 33% reported no associated risk factors, 9.3% reported living with sheep and goats, and 7.7% reported a history of foreign objects entering the eye. The most common symptoms for those affected by O. ovis were sudden onset, including a foreign body sensation and movement, redness, tearing, itching, swelling, irritation, photophobia, burning, and ocular secretion. In cases caused by D. hominis, symptoms included eyelid edema, pain, redness, itching, movement within the lesion, ocular irritation, and discharge. Regarding occupational or recreational activity, agriculture, and livestock had the highest incidence, followed by trades and technical activities, being a student, and having traveled to an endemic region for work or recreation. Patients with red eyes may suffer from external ophthalmomyiasis, which requires a thorough examination to diagnose and treat it early. Moreover, as the temperature increases due to climate change, it is essential to consider how this will affect the spread of different pathogens.

Spatial Distribution and Abundance of Chrysomya bezziana in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia Using GIS

Myiasis caused by Calliphorid and Oestrid flies constitute a major threat to the development of livestock industry in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Increased veterinary concerns recently paid to the frequent reports on enteric pathogens caused by the larvae of these flies. Although the importance of sheep and goats in Saudi Arabia, the geographic distribution limits of Calliphorid and Oestrid infestation in caprine livestock has never been highlighted. ArcGIS software was used to assess the spatial distribution of myiasis causing flies in Jazan Province, Saudi Arabia. Implemented Evolutionary algorithms in maximum entropy (MaxEnt) was used to predict the distribution map for myiasis causing flies. Bioclimatic and topographic data layers from Worldclim was analyzed to estimate the percent contribution of variables predicting suitable habitats of flies causing myiasis. Field validation was occurred to evaluate the habitat suitability produced by the model. The predictive ecological niche model was found high with an AUC value of 0.95 and 0.93 for train and test occurrence records, respectively, with a standard deviation equal 0.032. About eighteen variables were found to contribute in spatial predictive occurrence of myiasis causing flies. Precipitation variables enhanced the model predictive power with (57.7%) in Jackknife test. Besides, elevation, NDVI and tree cover shared reduced effect in predicting myiasis causing flies distribution.

Studi Literatur Uji Aktivitas Ekstrak Daun Kirinyuh (Chromolaena odorata) Sebagai Alternatif Pengobatan Myiasis yang Disebabkan oleh Chrysomya bezziana

Myiasis is a disease in livestock caused by the larvae of the fly Chrysomya bezziana . Myiasis causes economic losses due to decreased productivity and tissue damage in livestock. Treatment of myiasis is by using synthetic insecticides, but the use of synthetic insecticides has a negative impact on animals, humans, and the environment. The use of synthetic insecticides can be replaced with botanical insecticides, one of the plants that can be used as antimyiasis is kirinyuh . Kirinyuh is a plant from the Asteraceae family which has been used as a botanical insecticide. This literature study aims to determine the potential of kirinyuh leaves as antimyiasis, the compounds contained in kirinyuh leaves and the mechanism of antimyiasis. This literature study uses 30 literature collected by browsing the Google Scholar database. Five literature states that kirinyuh leaves contain secondary metabolites of flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins and terpenoids. Meanwhile, 12 literatures describe the antimyiasis activity of these secondary metabolites. Flavonoids inhibit the nervous system and interfere with energy metabolism in the insect body, alkaloids interfere with the nervous system and reduce insect appetite, saponins as antifeedants and insect growth inhibitors, tannins interfere with insect digestion and growth, and terpenoids as inhibitors of nerve transmission in insects.

TRACHEOSTOMAL MYIASIS: A CASE REPORT

“Myiasis” is considered in Hindu mythology as “God's punishment for sinners.” Myiasis of the tracheal stoma is rare. Only a few cases have been. We report a case of tracheostomal myiasis in an elderly male. The species which had infested the stoma was identied as Chrysomya bezziana, an obligate parasite. B

Epidemiological studies on screwworm infestation in sheep flocks in Sulaimani province

This study was conducted in different region in Sulaimani province, Kurdistan Region-Iraq, from August 2021 to April 2022. Isolated randomly, 527 (3.4%) out of 15360 sheep examined had myiasis, identified three genus and sex species of flies in all locations based on morphological characteristics. Chrysomya Bezziana is found in all regions instead of Qardagh and Sharbazher, Lucilia Sericata, Calliphora Vomitoria, and Calliphora vicina were found in all regions. The prevalence rate of myiasis was found in Dukan region at 5.5% (95/1715) and the lowest rate was revealed in the Garmiyan region 2.6% (81/3160). During the seasonal distribution, the highest rate of myiasis was found in Spring (4.8%), followed by (3.8%) in the Summer and (3.4%) in the Autumn, while shows the lowest distribution in Winter (0.8%). In this study, to accurately detect flies, fresh meat was placed in several areas, observed the heavy flies landing spring season.

Use molecular method to detect the screw worm fly in Al-Diwaniyah province

Chrysomya bezziana this study was carried out between October, 2021 to March 31, 2022 in six region from Al-Diwaniyah province. Observe the influence of the month and type of animal on the region's. The total number of animals infected was 33 (1) cattle, (7) lambs, and (35) sheep. Al-muhnawa had the highest rate of infestation, while Al-hamza had the lowest rate of infestation. The highest rate of infestation recorded in March ()% and the lowest in February ()%.Conventional PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) was used for molecular identification. A DNA extraction was performed on 50 randomly chosen larvae from the total population. The size of the PCR product (548 pb) For Chrysomya bezziana, from the infected animals larvae were taken to DNA extracted and used following targeting 16S rRNA gene product size (548 bp). There follows sequence analysis to obtain the nucleotide (16S rRNA) gene, and the sequence was recoded in the National Center for Biotechnology (NCBI) with accession numbers (ON059979, ON059980, ON059981, ON059982, ON059983, ON059984, ON059985)Iraq. This gene's homology sequence identity percentage was calculated by comparing it to another globally registered gene (NCBI).

Estimating colonization time of maggots infesting wounds in dogs: three case studies

Forensic entomology is a key means of solving crimes related to both humans and animals by estimating the minimum postmortem interval (mPMI) or minimum time of colonization (mTOC). In Sri Lanka, this is the first attempt to estimate mTOC of the myiasis-causing fly Chrysomya bezziana (Villeneuve) (Diptera: Calliphoridae) in animal wounds using accumulated degree days (ADD). This study focuses on three dog myiasis cases reported to two veterinary clinics in Peradeniya, 2015. The mTOC is calculated for all three dog cases at temperature 38.8 °C which is the normal body rectal temperature of the dog. Based on the results, all infestations were due to a single fly species, C. bezziana and the ADD calculations suggest female C. bezziana flies have laid the eggs six days prior to the removal of C. bezziana larvae from the wounds. The present study highlights the importance and application of insect evidence to solve crime cases related to myiasis.

Invasion of the Land of Samurai: Potential Spread of Old-World Screwworm to Japan under Climate Change

Temperatures have fluctuated dramatically throughout our planet’s long history, and in recent decades, global warming has become a more visible indicator of climate change. Climate change has several effects on different economic sectors, especially the livestock industry. The Old-world screwworm (OWS), Chrysomya bezziana (Villeneuve, 1914), is one of the most destructive insect pests which is invading new regions as a result of climate change. The economic loss in livestock business due to invasion of OWS was previously assessed by FAO in Iraq to be USD 8,555,000. Other areas at risk of invasion with OWS in the future include Japan. Therefore, maximum entropy implemented in MaxEnt was used to model predictive risk maps of OWS invasion to Japan based on two representative concentration pathways (RCPs), 2.6 and 8.5, for 2050 and 2070. The Area Under Curve (AUC) indicates high model performance, with a value equal to 0.89 (±0.001). In addition, the True Skill Statistics (TSS) value was equal to 0.7. The resulting models indicate the unsuitability of the northern territory of Japan for invasion by OWS. The main island’s southern costs show high and very high invasion suitability, respectively, and both Kyushu and Okinawa are at high risk of invasion with OWS. The predicted risk maps can be considered a warning sign for the Japanese quarantine authority to hasten a control program in order to protect the livestock industry from this devastating pest.

First Case of Nosocomial Nasal Myiasis Caused by Chrysomya bezziana in Kuwait

First Case of Nosocomial Nasal Myiasis Caused by Chrysomya bezziana in Kuwait

Modelling the occurrence and spatial distribution of screwworm species in Northern Pakistan.

We use binomial kriging to model the spatial distribution of myiasis by three species namely Chrysomya bezziana, Wohlfahrtia magnifica and Lucilia cuprina in the livestock of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Traditional species distribution models are usually based on assumption of independence of observations. Species data often come in presence-only form for which background points are generated based on some covariates using statistical and machine learning techniques such as MaxEnt. We assume a symmetric binomial distribution based on the principle of maximum entropy in order to decide the number of pseudo-absences. Our results showed that the spatial models fitted very well and prediction distributions were estimated with excellent accuracy. Moreover kriging maps were more accurate as most of the non-spatial variation has been picked up by external drift with higher values of the sensitivity focusing partial AUC for all the three species. Land-use-land-cover was a common factor significantly affecting spatial distribution of all the three species suggesting that for established species anthropogenic factors such as land use become a strong determinant of their spatial distribution. Our results also revealed that for invading species like W. magnifica elevation acts as a barrier to species dispersal and therefore is more limiting to distribution. Furthermore the higher overall prediction accuracy demonstrated that our models performed well in predicting the distributions of the three species, which would lead to better understanding and management of the larval infestation.

Vulvo-vaginal myiasis among rural women in West Bengal, India

Myiasis, the infestation of living or dead tissue of vertebrates by larvae (maggots) of dipterous flies, is well-known in the medical field. Different parts of the human body, such as skin, oral, nasal, urogenital are affected and named accordingly. The present study was a clinic-entomological study where the women having vulvo-vaginal myiasis were included. Maggots were collected, cultured, and adult flies were identified. A total of 34 cases of vulvo-vaginal myiasis were treated. The larvae of 29 cases were cultured into adults. Most of the women are rural (94%), illiterate and from a low socioeconomic society. The authors specified the infested sites of vulva and vagina such as vaginal, labia, clitoris, episiotomy wound, vulval growth, and prolapsed uterus. The episiotomy wound (32%) is the most common infestation site, followed by the vagina (26%). Chrysomya bezziana (76%) and Chrysomya megacephala (24%) are the identified flies. Illiterate, rural puerperal mothers of low socioeconomic status without proper health education and basic hygiene knowledge are vulnerable to myiasis.

Catch Composition of Dipteran flies in Old Oyo National Park, Nigeria

Dipteran flies play significant role in disease transmission to human, domestic and wild animals. The distribution and diversity of dipteran flies of medical and veterinary importance in Old Oyo national park and its significant importance were assessed in relation to altitude and ecology. Twelve Nzi traps were set at 50 m equidistance to capture dipteran flies between February and August 2019. A total of 1529 dipteran flies belonging to five families were captured. More dipteran flies (64.9%) were trapped during the dry season than wet season (35.1%) (X2 = 270.8; P < 0.0001; OR = 3.41). Of the total flies caught, 289 representing 18.9% were identified as haematophagus flies. Differences in the total haematophagus fly 2 abundance was not significant across the altitudinal levels (X2 = 0.432; P = 0.511; OR = 1.13). The relative apparent density (RAD) of 0.47, 0.22, 0.13, 0.09, 0.07 and 0.03 (flies/trap/day) was observed in Glossina, Hippobosca, Tabanus, Haematopota, Chrysops, Ancala and, respectively. The diversity index of 0.55 and 0.76 were determined for Glossina spp. and Tabanids respectively. The non-blood sucking flies in order of abundance are Musca domestica (43.6%), Fanniacanicularis (41.9%), Chrysomyia bezziana (8.9%), Lucilia sericata (5.6%). If the value-chain of ecotourism is to be promoted in the park, vector-borne arthropods need to be controlled through the use of integrated methods.
 Keywords: Ecological survey, haematophagus flies, Old Oyo national Park, RAD

Oral myiasis by Chrysomya Bezziana a bizarre sequel of self inflicting injury

Abstract Self-inflicting injuries are common among special children. One of the complications is Oral Myiasis. 11 yr old spastic female reported with pain and swelling in palatal region due to trauma from wooden stick. Oral examination revealed, an ulcerated lesion measuring about 2 cm × 1 cm in relation to 11 and 12. 4 live maggots were removed from the ulcerated wound which after entomological examination was reported as Chrysomya Bezziana. Uniqueness of the case This case describes a non-invasive management of Oral myiasis in a special child with poor socioeconomic condition which demanded out-patient care which was clinically effective and affordable.

Epidemiology and factors associated with cutaneous myiasis in sheep and goats under coastal region of Tamil Nadu

A study on the prevalence of wound myiasis in sheep and goats was undertaken. The overall prevalence of myiasis in sheep and goats was 17.59% (67/381). The prevalence of myiasis was relatively higher in sheep (21.69%) than in goats (9.85%). The larvae recovered from wound of myiasis were identified as Chrysomya bezziana and Musca domestica . The prevalence was significantly (P<0.05) higher in females (59.70%) than in males (40.30%). Age had significant (P<0.01) influence on the prevalence of myiasis and ranged from 5.97% in hoggets to 61.19% in adults. Season-wise significantly (P<0.01) maximum prevalence was recorded during summer (52.24%) followed by winter (23.88%), northeast monsoon (13.43%) and minimum during southwest monsoon (10.45%). In goats, breed-wise prevalence was higher in Boer x non-descript (46.15%) followed by non-descript (30.77%) and Kanni (23.08%) goats. Lambing and kidding in adults and tagging in lambs/kids were most important predisposing factors for myiasis. Lesions of cutaneous myiasis were located more frequently on the head and genital organs than other parts of the body. It was concluded that wound due to ear tagging and pox lesions were the main predisposing factors for myiasis in sheep.

Usefulness of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid barcoding in identification of Chrysomya bezziana ophthalmomyasis

We report a case of ophthalmomyiasis profunda with a complete destruction of ocular tissues in an old diabetic lady who presented with sudden onset of bleeding from a progressively increasing, painless swelling in her left eye since two weeks. She was primarily treated with Ivermectin, paraffin dressing, manual removal of maggots, and then total exenteration. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding analysis supported by DNA sequencing accurately identified the species as Chrysomya bezziana based on the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase 1 gene. This case report demonstrates the usefulness of DNA barcoding, complementing the conventional identification methods, in accurate identification of maggots of ophthalmic significance.

Myiasis Diagnosis and Treatment in Goat

Background: Myiasis is a disease caused by an infestation of fly larvae (Chrysomya bezziana) in living tissue. Myiasis cases are common in Indonesia because of the tropical climate. Purpose: This case report is intended to provide information on handling myiasis in goats. Case Analysis: A 2-year-old female goat weighing 30 kg was reported by the farmer because there was a wound in the leg. The goat was examined physically and hematologically. On physical examination, there was a limp on the left front leg caused by an injury with the larvae. Haematological examination results showed leukocytosis with leukocyte count of 13.26 x 103 cells/μL, monocytosis with monocyte counts of 0.63 x 103 cells/μL and anemia with erythrocyte counts of 2.93 x 106 cells/μL. The goat was diagnosed with myiasis and treated by eliminating fly larvae, irrigating the injured part by procaine penicillin and dihydrostreptomycin, spraying the wound using 1% dichlofenthion and intramuscular injection of 20 mg/kg body weight long-acting oxytetracycline and 1 mg/kg body weight diphenhydramine HCl. Conclusion: Three days after treatment, the wound condition has improved.

Canine Myiasis and its Causal Agents in India

Myiasis, the invasion of tissues of live humans and vertebrate animals with dipteran larvae is common throughout the tropical regions of the world. It is a real welfare problem of worldwide distribution and a matter of great concern among medical and veterinary fields. The reports indicate that dogs are the most common canine species affected by myiasis. The present study was conducted to ascertain prevalence of myiasis among pet dogs and to identify myiasis-causing flies in India. The study resulted in the identification of three species of myiasis causing flies among pet dogs. The Old World Screw-worm fly- Chrysomya bezziana was reported to be the predominant fly species followed by Musca domestica and Sarcophaga ruficornis. The overall infestation rate was high in rainy season followed by summer, spring, autumn and least in winter. Incidence of myiasis was found to be higher among adult males than the females. The most frequently infested body regions were the face, neck and perianal region among males and face, neck and vulvar lips among females. Most infestations were found in the wounds at front body parts of the adult males, suggesting the common occurrence of myiasis in consequence of competitive fighting.

Animal industry and veterinary science in eastern New Guinea: World War II to Independence, 1975.

We have described the efforts of the Australian administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea (TPNG) to establish a veterinary service and viable animal industries. These efforts began with planning before the end of World War II in 1945 and continued until independence in 1975. Whereas pre-war cattle had mostly been used to control grass on plantations, post-war, the objective was to use the country's extensive, unoccupied grasslands for cattle production. During this period, the cattle population increased from 4000 to more than 150,000. The greatest success was achieved in herds with crosses of Bos indicus and Bos taurus owned by expatriates. The only serious disease constraint on production was myiasis due to Chrysomya bezziana, a parasite throughout New Guinea and South-east Asia. Attempts were made to increase the productivity of the indigenous pig population. Success was limited by a failure to manage inadequate nutrition and internal parasites and to fully understand the cultural aspects of pig ownership. Similar problems inhibited chicken production in villages. The serious viral infections of pigs and birds were absent from TPNG, but a border with Indonesian Papua represents a potential route for the incursion of animal diseases exotic to both Papua New Guinea and to Australia.