[An erysipelas revealing infection by Dermatobia hominis].
Myiases are parasitic infections by larvae of flies. The development of intercontinental travels increases the incidence of tropical myiasis in travellers. We report the case of a patient, having recently stayed in Peru, presenting with an inflammatory plate of the right shoulder, covered with small papules with a hole inside. The initial aspect seemed like an erysipelas. Considering the resistance to the antibiotic treatment, the diagnosis of myiase was suspected. The local application of petroleum jelly allowed the exit of nine larvae of Dermatobia hominis and a fast good outcome. In human beings, the number of larvae usually infecting the same individual varies from one to four. This observation is original because of the number of implied larvae, which explains the intensity and the extent of the local inflammatory signs, which first looked like erysipelas. This diagnosis must be suspected in cases of erysipelas resistant to antibiotics in patients back from an endemic area.
Service de médecine interne et maladies infectieuses, hôpital de la Milétrie, 2, rue de la Milétrie, 86021 Poitiers, France. antoine.elsendoorn@wanadoo.fr <antoine.elsendoorn@wanadoo.fr>
A
A
Elsendoorn
C
C
Landron
V
V
Goudet
G
G
Pénin
F
F
Roblot
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004175:Diptera; D004886:Erysipelas / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009198:Myiasis / Q000175:diagnosis*