Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2016 Apr;5(2):95-6.
doi: 10.21037/tp.2016.03.01.

Periungual myiasis caused by wohlfahrtia magnifica mimicking an ingrown toenail

Alessandro Boscarelli  1 , Giovanni Battista Levi Sandri  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Periungual myiasis caused by wohlfahrtia magnifica mimicking an ingrown toenail

Alessandro Boscarelli et al. Transl Pediatr. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Myiasis is the infestation of organs and tissues of human being or other vertebrate animals with dipterous larvae. Myiasis is generally rare in humans, especially in children. We present the first case of periungual myiasis by Wohlfahrtia magnifica in a 5-year-old female. Wohlfahrtia magnifica is an obligatory parasite, which has been described as cause of ophthalmomyiasis, otomyiasis, oral myiasis, vulvar myiasis and wound myiasis. Treatment of myiasis and ingrown toenail is generally non-operative although both entities can be serious and/or non-responsive to conservative therapy.

Keywords: Children; ingrown toenail; myiasis; wohlfahrtia magnifica.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The right big toe immediately after the larva had emerged and fallen to the ground.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The larva of flesh fly, Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Diptera, Sarcophagidae).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The right big toe after two weeks of treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Meinking TL, Burkhart CN, Burkhart CG. Changing paradigms in parasitic infections: common dermatological helminthic infections and cutaneous myiasis. Clin Dermatol 2003;21:407-16. 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2003.08.004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Robbins K, Khachemoune A. Cutaneous myiasis: a review of the common types of myiasis. Int J Dermatol 2010;49:1092-8. 10.1111/j.1365-4632.2010.04577.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Salimi M, Goodarzi D, Karimfar M, et al. Human Urogenital Myiasis Caused by Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in Markazi Province of Iran. Iran J Arthropod Borne Dis 2010;4:72-6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yazgi H, Uyanik MH, Yoruk O, et al. Aural Myiasis by Wohlfahrtia magnifica: Case Report. Eurasian J Med 2009;41:194-6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goddard J. Flies whose maggots cause myiasis in humans. In: Physician’s Guide to Arthropods of Medical Importance. 2nd ed. Florida: CRC Press; 1996:169-87.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources