External Ophthalmomyiasis Caused by Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Challiphoride) Larva

Myiasis is an animal or human pathogenic condition initiated by parasitic dipterous fly larvae feeding in the host’s necrotic or living tissue. Here we report a case of external ophthalmomyiasis caused by Lucilia sericata in a 78-yr-old with a vascular tumor of the retina and surgery history, from Bijar City of Kurdistan Province, Iran in 2015. Associated symptoms included right eye pain with mucoid ocular discharge, headache, sensing the presence of a foreign body in the eye and itching. Examination revealed a L. sericata Larva in his right eye. Infestation of ocular tissue by fly larvae (ophthalmomyiasis) progresses after retinal surgery and can destroy orbital tissues within days, especially in patient with poor hygienic conditions. Treatment consists of removal of the larvae and surgical debridement. Following removal of larva, the symptoms completely resolved within a few hours and remained asymptomatic several weeks later.