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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2004, p. 3378, Vol. 42, No. 7
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.7.3378.2004

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Human Tracheopulmonary Myiasis


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LETTER
 
Ed. Note: This letter clarifies some of the information presented in a previously published article (reference 4).

Regarding the recent report (4) by Cornet et al., I would like to provide additional information about human tracheopulmonary myiasis and a few comments from a veterinary perspective.

The authors reported that only four cases of human tracheopulmonary myiasis have been reported to date. At least two more cases have been reported: one, from Brazil, caused by the primate parasite Alouattamyia baeri (Diptera: Cuterebridae) (7), and another, from Japan, caused by Megaselia spicularis (Diptera: Phoridae) (11). Other, nonpulmonary human infestations by Megaselia sp. have also been reported (1, 3, 12).

Tracheopulmonary myiasis appears to be equally rare in animals, despite the existence of many bot fly species whose larvae normally migrate into the upper respiratory tracts of their respective animal hosts (2). Even those bot fly species whose larvae routinely penetrate the upper respiratory tract and migrate into adjacent tissues rarely cause tracheopulmonary myiasis. For example, dogs and cats in North America are frequently infested during the late summer months with Cuterebra sp. larvae (2). Although pharyngeal myiasis is occasionally reported (10), as well as aberrant migration into other locations such as the eye (9) or central nervous system (8), the migration of the larvae through the pharyngeal tissues rarely causes harm. Despite the proximity of the migrating larvae to the lower respiratory tract, only three cases of tracheal, though not pulmonary, cuterebriasis have been described (5, 6).

Finally, two minor corrections should be made to the authors' statement that "only one genus of botfly is currently recognized as occurring in North America... .". First, because these insects are members of the order Diptera, or true flies, "botfly" should be written as two words (1a). Second, several other bot fly genera certainly occur in North America, and veterinarians are quite familiar with their larvae: Gasterophilus (affecting horses), Hypoderma (cattle), Oestrus (sheep), and Cephenomyia (deer, elk, caribou, and other cervids) (2).


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REFERENCES
 
    1
  1. Biery, T. L., R. W. Clegren, and W. W. Hart. 1979. Two cases of phorid (Diptera: Phoridae) myiasis in Texas. J. Med. Entomol. 15:122-123.[Medline]
    2. 1
  2. Borror, D. J., C. A. Tripplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An introduction to the study of insects, 6th ed., p. 97. Saunders College Publishing, Philadelphia, Pa.
    3. 2
  3. Bowman, D. D. 1995. Georgi's parasitology for veterinarians, 6th ed., p. 22-30. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia, Pa.
    4. 3
  4. Carpenter, T. L., and D. O. Chastain. 1992. Facultative myiasis by Megaselia sp. (Diptera: Phoridae) in Texas: a case report. J. Med. Entomol. 29:561-563.[Medline]
    5. 4
  5. Cornet, M., M. Florent, A. Lefebvre, C. Wertheimer, C. Perez-Eid, M. J. Bangs, and A. Bouvet. 2003. Tracheopulmonary myiasis caused by a mature third-instar Cuterebra larva: case report and review. J. Clin. Microbiol. 41:5810-5812.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
    6. 5
  6. Dvorak, L. D., J. D. Bay, D. T. Crouch, and R. M. Corwin. 2000. Successful treatment of intratracheal cuterebrosis in two cats. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. 36:304-308.[Abstract]
    7. 6
  7. Fitzgerald, S. D., C. A. Johnson, and E. J. Peck. 1996. A fatal case of intrathoracic cuterebriasis in a cat. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. 32:353-357.[Abstract]
    8. 7
  8. Fraiha, H., L. C. L. Chaves, I. C. Borges, and R. B. de Freitas. 1984. Miiases humanas na Amazonia. III. Miiase pulmonary por Alouattamyia baeri (Shannon and Greene, 1926) (Diptera: Cuterebridae). Seperata da Revista da Fundaçao Sesp. 29:63-68.
    9. 8
  9. Glass, E. N., A. M. Cornetta, A. de la Hunta, S. A. Center, and M. Kent. 1998. Clinical and clinicopathologic features in 11 cats with Cuterebra larvae myiasis of the central nervous system. J. Vet. Int. Med. 12:365-368.
    10. 9
  10. Gwin, R. M., R. Merideth, C. L. Martin., and R. L. Kaswan. 1984. Ophthalmomyiasis interna posterior in two cats and a dog. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. 20:481-486.
    11. 10
  11. Kazacos, K. R., R. M. Bright, K. E. Johnson, K. L. Anderson, and H. D. Cantwell. 1980. Cuterebra sp. as a cause of pharyngeal myiasis in cats. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. 16:773-776.
    12. 11
  12. Komori, K., K. Hara, K. G. V. Smith, T. Oda, and D. Katamine. 1978. A case of lung myiasis caused by larvae of Megaselia spiracularis Schmitz (Diptera: Phoridae). Trans. R. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg. 72:467-470.[Medline]
    13. 12
  13. Meinhardt, W., and R. H. L. Disney. 1989. Urogenital myiasis caused by scuttle fly larvae (Diptera: Phoridae). Br. J. Urol. 64:547-548.[Medline]
Robert D. Garrison*
P.O. Box 354
Mattawan, MI 49071

* E-mail: RDG1500{at}earthlink.net

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, July 2004, p. 3378, Vol. 42, No. 7
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.7.3378.2004





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