Review of the human myiasis in Japan

Abstract

Myiasis in Japan was reviewed based on the case reports published until 2014. A total of 209 cases of facultative myiases were reported and these involved more than 32 species from 11 dipteran families. Boettcherisca peregrina, Lucilia sericata, and Parasarcophaga similis were responsible for 74 of all the cases. Four foreign dipteran species were involved in 50 cases of obligatory myiasis. Dermatobia hominis imported from Central and South America dominated with 41 of these cases. Four cases of wound myiases were caused by L. sericata and L. ampullacea, and one case of ophthalmomyiasis by B. peregrina was acquired in forests or similar environments. Among the flies known as forest-dwelling species, L. ampullacea, Chrysomya pinguis, and B. septentrionalis are found to be dominant in forests. It is recommended that people visiting forests stay together and avoid exposing their skin to prevent infections from myiasis-producing flies. For development of control measures to reduce infections, it is essential to accumulate knowledge on the abundance of myiasis-producing flies in different forest environments and on smaller islands, and to collect case reports of human myiasis with reliable identifications of the fly species involved.