CASE REPORT: RECOVERY OF CALLIPHORA VICINA FIRST-INSTAR LARVAE FROM A HUMAN TRAUMATIC WOUND ASSOCIATED WITH A PROGRESSIVE NECROTIZING BACTERIAL INFECTION

Abstract. Human myiasis caused by Calliphora vicina is rare in Europe. Here we report a case of C. vicina infection occurring in the traumatic leg wound of a healthy 21-year-old man. Firstly, a progressive necrotizing infec-tion developed in the wound despite administration of antibiotics. Aeromonas hydrophila was isolated from the wound samples. Secondly, during debridement, C. vicina first-instar larvae were isolated from the wound. To our knowledge, this is the first European case of C. vicina wound myiasis associated with severe A. hydrophila infection. Human myiasis is due to parasitic infestation of human body by larvae of the fly Brachycere Diptera, commonly known as maggots. In Europe, Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy (Diptera: Calliphoridae) is a very common urban species of fly closely associated with man.1 Usually larvae develop on carrion and their finding in humans in non-trop-ical countries is a rarity.1 Human myiasis caused by C. vicina have been reported on only a few occasions.2–4 CASE REPORT The case was a healthy young man, living in the smal