Dermal myiasis in an Australian traveller.

Myiasis, the infestation of body tissues by the larvae of flies, occurs infrequently in Australian tourists who return from areas where certain species are endemic. Some of these insect species such as Cochliomyia hominivorax and Chrysoma bezziana (New and Old World screw-worms respectively) are responsible for significant disease in livestock as well as in humans. We report a patient who travelled extensively through South America and returned to Australia with a subcutaneous nodule containing a large larva of the species Dermatobia hominis. Because of the risk of travellers introducing unwanted species of flies into our country, it is important for doctors to suspect the possibility of furuncular myiasis, and to obtain accurate identification of the larva.