Bacon therapy and furuncular myiasis
T. F. Brewer, M. E. Wilson, E. Gonzalez and D. Felsenstein
Infectious Disease Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
OBJECTIVE--To evaluate a simple, noninvasive method for removing fly larvae
from patients with furuncular myiasis. DESIGN--Case series.
SETTING--Ambulatory office of a tertiary care center. PATIENTS--Three
patients who presented with Dermatobia hominis infestation.
INTERVENTION--The patients with D hominis infestation were treated with the
application of bacon fat over the larval apertures. MAIN OUTCOME
MEASURE--Removal of intact larvae. RESULTS--Within 3 hours of the
application of bacon, the larvae had migrated sufficiently far out of the
skin to be removed with tweezers. Ten larvae were removed with this method.
There were no treatment failures or complications. CONCLUSIONS--Furuncular
myiasis will be seen more frequently in temperate areas as individuals
travel to endemic areas. We describe the clinical characteristics of
myiasis and a simple method of treatment that permits rapid diagnosis and
cure.
