Urogenital myiasis in a post-menopausal rural woman: A case report

Genital myiasis in females is a parasitic infection of the vulval region with the larva of various files species. Only a few cases of urogenital myiasis have been reported in the literature.

We present a case of 55 years postmenopausal, farmer female otherwise healthy presenting to the outpatient department with complaints of maggots and severe itching in the vulval region. Examination revealed erythema in the labia major and groin without lymphadenopathy. In the vaginal examination; inflammation and a large number of maggots were observed in the urethral meatus, labia minora, and vaginal canal, progressing to the cervix. With this, she was diagnosed to be a case of urogenital myiasis. She was managed with the extraction of maggots using turpentine oil, along with broad-spectrum antibiotics and Foleys catheterization for a week. Later during follow up, she was asymptomatic and examination revealed no maggots, and the lesions were healed.

Extraction of maggots along with symptomatic management is the mainstay of treatment of myiasis. A significant number of the adult population in the rural areas of developing countries are illiterate and are not familiarized with education regarding genital hygiene. So, along with physicians, policy makers should also be involved in public awareness for genital hygiene.

Despite being rare, urogenital myiasis is preventable and treatable condition. Efforts at increasing genital hygiene awareness in a low resource country are utmost for its prevention.