Mohammed Aws, Alkhafaji Thamer, Al-Rubaye Haydar, Al-Araby Moustafa, Abu-Elwafa Salah, Abbas Ibrahim
Screworm Refence Laboratory, Veterinary Section, Ministry of Agriculture, Baghdad, Iraq.
Parasitology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Baghdad University, Baghdad, 28061, Iraq.
Trop Anim Health Prod. 2025 Mar 6;57(2):99. doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04326-6.
The present study surveyed traumatic myiasis cases admitted to the governmental Veterinary hospitals (belonging to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture) distributed throughout Iraq, between 2019 and 2023, and highlights the epidemiological changes occurred in comparison to the previous situation. A total of 916 cases were detected in various animals from nine governorates, with an annual average of 183.2 cases/year, which is lower than the corresponding value estimated for the period 1996-2000 (23,510 cases/year) or for 2001-2018 (811.2 cases/year). Cases peaked during early summer, unlike the earlier surveys during winter, which assumes that the pupal development peaks during spring. Numbers and geographical distribution of the cases suggest emergent infestations in the northern region, persistent endemic infestations in the middle region, and cleared or lowered infestations in the southern region. Out of the 916 cases, sheep (610 cases) had the highest infestations, and the annual number of infested sheep was estimated at 54,000 animals, giving rise to a yearly economic loss mounts greatly over 1.5 million USD. Cattle (172 cases) was the second most frequently infested animal; however, cattle cases declined over years. Forty-four dog cases were detected, mostly in Diyala; nonetheless, dog myiasis is largely underreported in Iraq since millions of dogs live as strays. The Old World screwworm fly accounted for over 90% of the infestations, which underlines its historical role as the major contributor to traumatic myiasis in Iraq. In conclusion, significant changes in the epidemiology of animal traumatic myiasis in Iraq are strongly suggested. The Iraqi authorities should therefore consider these changes in updating various strategies established to effectively combat this economically important disease.
本研究调查了2019年至2023年期间伊拉克各地政府兽医医院（隶属于伊拉克农业部）收治的创伤性蝇蛆病病例，并突出了与先前情况相比发生的流行病学变化。在来自九个省份的各种动物中总共检测到916例病例，年平均病例数为183.2例/年，低于1996 - 2000年期间估计的相应值（23,510例/年）或2001 - 2018年期间（811.2例/年）。病例在初夏达到高峰，这与早期在冬季进行的调查不同，早期调查显示蛹发育在春季达到高峰。病例的数量和地理分布表明，北部地区出现新的感染，中部地区持续存在地方性感染，而南部地区的感染已清除或减少。在916例病例中，绵羊（610例）感染率最高，估计每年感染绵羊的数量为54,000只，每年造成的经济损失大幅超过150万美元。牛（172例）是第二大最常感染的动物；然而，多年来牛的病例数有所下降。检测到44例犬类病例，主要在迪亚拉省；尽管如此，伊拉克犬类蝇蛆病的报告大多不足，因为数百万只狗流浪生活。新大陆螺旋蝇占感染病例的90%以上，这突出了其作为伊拉克创伤性蝇蛆病主要致病因素的历史作用。总之，强烈表明伊拉克动物创伤性蝇蛆病的流行病学发生了重大变化。因此，伊拉克当局在更新为有效防治这种具有重要经济影响的疾病而制定的各种策略时应考虑这些变化。
