Old world blowflies in the new world

Human activity, particularly migration and the export of live animals, can provide vehicles for the dispersal of many parasites and their vectors. These movements, often overlooked until too late, provide potential for epidemic outbreaks and can profoundly alter accepted ideas on the geographic distribution and epidemiological status of particular species. In this review, Brian Laurence discusses the recent rapid spread of blowflies into the americas; these conspicious green flies transport a variety of gastro-intestinal pathogens between their favoured environments of latrines and exposed food, and some species are important parasites of flesh wounds, causing cutaneous myiasis.