Oral and cutaneous myiasis in a five-year-old child from Karachi, Pakistan

Myiasis is a pathological condition in which there is a pestilence of fly larvae feeding on living or dead tissues. This disease is common in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and America and rarely affects humans. Our case report describes a five-year-old boy from Karachi, Pakistan with a history of extraction sockets and incisional biopsy of the left parotid lymph node. Lack of proper wound maintenance led to infestation of maggots both over the overlying skin of the left parotid region and the posterior oral cavity. The plan was wound debridement both outside and intra-orally under local anesthesia and the removal of maggots. A cotton swab impregnated with turpentine oil was placed on the wounds for a few minutes. The wounds were then properly debrided with pyodine and hydrogen peroxide. Around 15 to 16 maggots were extracted from the wound on the left parotid region using medical forceps whereas five maggots were extracted from the intraoral wound with the help of turpentine oil and forceps. This case demonstrates the importance of oral health and proper wound management, and also that myiasis, despite its distinctiveness, can be managed by promoting awareness of the disease and by suitable treatment methods.