Myiasa is a terrible disease that occurs with some frequency at the veterinary clinic. Basically, it is an infestation by diptera larvae that feed on the dog’s living or dead tissue, liquid bodily substances or even food consumed by the animal.
The dog may have small or large lesions on the body, caused by these fly larvae that feed directly on the dog’s body tissues. For many guardians who face this problem, it is a shocking disease and even causes some disgust.
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- O Animal Expert preparou um artigo com tudo o que você precisa saber sobre a miíase: causas.
- Sintomas e tratamento.
Myiase is a parasitic disease consisting of a host infestation (man, dog, cat, etc.) by diptera larvae, i.e. flies. There are different species of flies that may be involved in this disease, the most common being in dogs: the fly of the family Calliphoridae, in particular the species Cochliomyia hominivorax that causes cavitary myasis, known as Queudver and the fly of the family cuterebride, mainly of the species Dermatobia hominis that causes myiase furon, also known as Bern.
Podemos classificar as miíases, conforme a sua localização, em três tipos diferentes:
The miasosis in the dog’s mouth is a very common situation. This is very painful for the animal, which normally stops eating because of the pain and eventually loses a lot of weight.
If you have a dog with this problem, or if you’ve seen a bastard on the street with a stroller, contact an animal association if you can’t seek veterinary help yourself. This is a very painful situation and the dog certainly suffers a lot.
Dog ears are another very common place where flies lay eggs. The miasis of the dog’s ear is also very painful and requires urgent veterinary treatment, mainly because the larvae begin to move through the ear canal and can have serious sequelae.
Sometimes this problem occurs in the eyes of the dog and the flies lay eggs and larvae in the area to feed on the tissues of this area. Some animals may go blind because the larvae eat all the eye tissue. Therefore, it is essential that you do not let the problem progress if you see one of these larvae in your dog’s eye. And above all, do not try to remove the larvae yourself, because it is very painful for the animal and the eyes are very sensitive areas. The dog must be sedated in order to perform the procedure with as little pain as possible and without risk to those who practice it.
With proper veterinary treatment, it is possible to save and recover the animal, even if it is in an advanced state like that of the dog that can be seen in the image.
Embora seja menos comum do que em cachorros, existem casos que relatam o aparecimento de miíase em gatos. Geralmente, este problema afeta mais os gatos de pelagem curta, porque as moscas têm melhor acesso à pele do animal.
Cats that have access to the street are more likely to have this problem because they are more in contact with dirty places, where these flies are located. You should be especially careful if your cat is an unsalted male and spends a few days on the street and fights other cats. The small wounds and wounds resulting from these fights are the preferred place for flies to lay their eggs.
The most common symptom of this disease is a skin lesion caused by larvae. These lesions often have a repulsive odor. In addition, depending on the location of myososis, other symptoms may occur simultaneously:
Symptoms of this disease can become so severe that the animal can even die from toxemia, bleeding or secondary infections.
This disease is very traumatic for the dog. Sometimes the larvae even reach deep areas of the skin and their manual removal causes a lot of pain in the dog, being necessary to anesthetize it. For this reason, it is essential that the treatment is done correctly by a veterinarian.
The veterinarian begins by shaving and disinfecting the affected area and removes the lava with tweezers. Systemic and/or local antibiotics may also be needed. In addition, larvicides may be used and supportive therapy may be required.
The key is to be attentive and examine your dog daily in the most common places to detect the occurrence of this problem (audible mouth, eyes), especially in the case of dogs that spend a lot of time away from home. As soon as you detect any of the signs or observe a larva, take your dog to the vet immediately. It’s a problem that’s developing very quickly. Remember that larvae literally eat your dog’s flesh!
The hygiene of the dog’s place is the most important thing to prevent these flies from appearing where the dog lives. Garbage, faeces, food attract all kinds of flies, which larvae larvae in the dog. See also our article on how to scare dog flies.
Flies usually deposit larvae in the wounds of small dogs. So if your dog has any wounds, disinfect it properly to avoid this problem.
Exactly the same applies if you have a cat. The hygiene of the sandbox is very important to avoid the appearance of flies. And, if the cat has any wounds, you must clean it properly.
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any kind of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any type of condition or discomfort.
If you would like to read more articles similar to Miasis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment, we recommend that you visit our Parasitic Diseases section.