[Cutaneous myiasis--a vacation souvenir].

Cutaneous myiasis is a temporary infestation of the skin with fly larvae. Travelling to subtropical areas accounts for a higher risk and increasing incidence in Europeans. In Middle- and South American myiasis is mainly caused by the botfly (Dermatobia hominis). Blood-suckling arthropods, usually mosquitoes, transmit the larvae of the botfly via phoresis, a unique mechanism of egg deposition. In Africa cutaneous myiasis is mostly due to the tumbu fly (Cordylobia anthropophaga). Infection with the tumbu fly larvae occurs after direct contact with the eggs that are often deposited in clothes and towels. Clinically an abscess-like lesion develops. Creeping sensations of movement under the skin are occasionally described. Following hatching, spontaneous healing can normally be expected, although extraction of the larvae is recommended to prevent abscess formation and superinfection.