Cutaneous myiasis caused by larvae of Cordylobia anthropophaga (Blanchard).

BACKGROUND

Cordylobia anthropophaga (Blanchard) is a nonhematophagous dipteron belonging to the Calliphoridae family. It produces a myiasis called "tumbu fly" or "ver de Cayor" or "mango fly" or "skin maggot fly".

CASE REPORTS: We describe two women, 24 and 23 years of age, affected by cutaneous myiasis caused by the larva of Cordylobia anthropophaga. In both cases the myiasis was contracted in Senegal and was characterized by a single lesion localized to the flank and the thigh respectively. From each of these lesions a single larva was extracted.

DISCUSSION: This myiasis represents a typical example of tropical disease that in the past was unknown to Western dermatologists.