HONG KONG: Elderly Woman Treated For Myiasis

HONG KONG (Department of Health), December 28, 2007: The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health confirmed today a local case of human myiasis involving a 92-year-old woman and urged members of the public to take measures to guard against the disease caused by maggots of flies. The patient, living in an elderly home in Wong Tai Sin, suffered from gum bleeding on December 22. She consulted a dentist on December 24 and was found to have maggots in her mouth. She was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on the same day and is now in stable condition. CHP's investigations revealed that she had no recent travel history. This is the thirteenth case of human myiasis this year. Fifteen cases were reported in 2006, six cases in 2005, eight in 2004 and nine in 2003. Human myiasis cases are caused by parasitic maggots of flies which infest the superficial wounds and body orifices such as mouth, ear and nose of debilitated persons with larvae. The larvae feed on the host's dead or living tissue, and may cause serious tissue damage, resulting in loss of function, injury to the skin, secondary invasion and death. People, especially staff of elderly homes, are advised to take note of the following measures: * All wounds should be treated immediately. Wound fluids and blood are known to be attractive to some species of flies. To avoid myiasis infestation, wounds should be cleaned and dressed properly; * Fly infestation could be avoided by proofing measures, including installation of fly screening materials to human dwelling places, dressing of wounds and maintaining good ventilation; * Observe good personal and environmental hygiene; * Staff of elderly homes should ensure good environmental hygiene, be alert to inmates developing symptoms of the disease and arrange for inmates feeling unwell to seek medical consultation promptly. Copyright 2006 Department of Health, Hong Kong