Infected animals may also have matted hair which is occasionally damp or moist.
FLY STRIKE SKIN
Initial clinical signs of myiasis in dogs and cats include red, raised, sores on the skin often filled with pus-like discharge. However, in most cases, larvae and maggots are not easily visible. The presence of maggots or larvae on your pet’s skin is the hallmark sign of myiasis or flystrike. These larvae will invade the skin and eat necrotic or infected tissues around it, causing inflammation, pain, and predisposing the skin to secondary bacterial and fungal infections. Matted hairs of dogs and cats can also be an egg-laying site for these flies.Įggs laid on these contaminated matted hair regions will hatch into larvae or maggots which will rapidly move to an open or infected wound to penetrate the skin. Newborn puppies with newly cut umbilical cords are also commonly affected. These flies require an intermediate host to lay their eggs into for larval nourishment and growth.įlystrike occurs when the fly lays their eggs in the infected skin wounds of an animal.
House flies, botflies, flesh flies, and blowflies are the most common fly species associated with myiasis in dogs and cats. What causes flystrike dermatitis in dogs and cats?įlystrike in dogs and cats are caused by different groups of flies, all of which require an intermediate host to complete their life cycles. Cats and dogs that have a concurrent illness and are not able to groom or clean themselves properly are also at an increased risk of being affected by flystrike dermatitis. Bite wounds from other animals or other external parasites are also a common site of flystrike dermatitis in pets. It usually affects pets with open wounds or ongoing skin infections. Flystrike is usually seen during the warmer months of the year. This is often associated with guinea pigs and rabbits, but the flies responsible for the skin condition also affect cats and dogs.
Medically termed as myiasis, flystrike dermatitis is a painful skin condition characterized by the presence or invasion of maggots under the skin of your pet.
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