Jacobs Bryan, Brown David L
Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Can J Plast Surg. 2006 Spring;14(1):31-2. doi: 10.1177/229255030601400105.
Dermatobia hominis, the botfly, is indigenous to Central and South America. Its usual host is a mammal, often a horse or cow. Cutaneous furuncular myiasis, human infestation by the botfly, has rarely been reported. Symptoms of infestation include a locally painful, firm furuncular lesion, often with a centrally located pore. Due to their infrequent occurrence, these lesions are often misdiagnosed as cellulitis, leishmaniasis, furunculosis, staphylococcal boil, insect bite or sebaceous cyst - conditions with similar presentations. The present case reiterates the need to think of 'zebras' when hearing 'hoof beats' that may have originated in a different land.