Human Foot Myiasis in Malaysia with a Review of the Literature

Abstract

Abstract

We report a case of foot myiasis in a 65-year-old male Chinese farmer living in rural Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The patient presented to plastic surgery clinic at the University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC) in January, 2002 with a swollen, inflamed right big toe with an ulcerated first right interphalangeal web space. Numerous maggots were emerging from the ulcerated area. The patient is a diabetic. An X-ray showed rarefaction of the bones of the right big toe. The patient was treated with debridement and removal of ulcerated infected tissues and amputation of the big toe. All the maggots were collected from the wound, then it was closed. The morphological characteristics of third stage larvae identified them as Chrysomya spp (Calliphoridae). This is the third case of big toe myiasis reported in Malaysia.

Keywords: myiasis; Chrysomya; foot; Malaysia