Cordylobia anthropophaga
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| Cordylobia anthropophaga | ||||||||||||||
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| Cordylobia anthropophaga (Blanchard, 1872) |
Cordylobia anthropophaga, the mango fly, tumbu fly, putzi fly or skin maggot fly is a species of blow-fly common in East and Central Africa. It is a parasite of large mammals (including humans) during its larval stage [1].
The adult female typically lays eggs in sandy or shady soil near recent deposits of feces; eggs are never laid directly on the host. Larvae can wait for the arrival of host for up to 15 days [1].
Successful penetrations in humans will result in furuncular (boil-like) myiasis, typically on the backs of arms or about the waist, lower back, or buttocks. [2].
Its specific epithet anthropophaga derives from the Greek word anthropophagus, "eater of men".
The fly commonly infects humans by laying its eggs on wet clothes, left out to dry. When the clothes are worn the warmth of the skin causes the eggs to hatch into larvae and burrow into the skin. A prevention method is to iron all clothes (including underwear) which will kill the eggs.
[edit] References
- ^ a b African tumbu fly. Merck Veterinary Manual. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
- ^ About the putzi fly. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-18.
[edit] External links
- Removal of Tumbu Fly larval infestation from breast of Nigerian woman
- Furuncular myiasis of the breast caused by the larvae of the Tumbu fly
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