The present report describes the clinical
characteristics of opportunistic cutaneous myiasis in a wild wolf and a treatment procedure that permits its rapid
cure. Orfanou et al.
9 have reported that myiasis
causes significant distress to the affected dogs, which
has been expressed by Farkas et al.
5 in their study on
the sheep with untreated myiasis. This clinical condition
was also observed in the present case with more marked
form. Therefore we agree with their suggestion that
effective treatment is important for maintaining welfare
standards of animals with such a disorder.
The wolf can be considered as much important as the
farm and stray dogs form the epidemiologic point of view
of myiasis10 because they can act as both reservoirs
and carriers of the parasitic fly species. According to
Schnur et al10, the dogs with myiasis but left
undiagnosed or untreated have the potential to be
vectors in the spread of these flies even across
international boundaries while they are transported for
various purposes such as leisure, sport or breeding. A
wolf can travel daily many places2, which naturally
means that it carries a potential risk to spread these flies
over a large territory even neighboring countries2.
In outdoor animals, dirty, matted fur creates humidity
of the microenvironment of the skin, an ideal condition for
the formation of a skin infection9,13. Additionally, fecal
or urine-stained coats, draining wounds or inflamed
tissues have noted to attract the flies infestation8. The
matted fur can make problem worse via obscuring the
area from view, delaying discovery of the problem.
Overweight, chronically ill and incontinent animals are
especially at risk, so the animals with such conditions
should be monitor very closely for signs of myiasis in fly
activity seasons13. The present case had very dirty
and matted fur with multiple contaminated wounds of
different sizes on the various sites of its body. It was
chronically ill, debilitated and cachectic, presented
incoordination with a lack of interest with its surrounding.
However, as it was recovered from the wild, it remained
undetermined whether these conditions occurred prior to
or after the case of myiasis. Whatever the reasons were,
the myiasis appears to cause severe welfare problems
and tissue destruction8,10.
The effects of the fly strike on animal is depend on its
severity, i.e. mild strikes can cause rapid loss of
condition, and bad strikes as it was in the current case
can be fatal. Strikes should be diagnosed early and
behavior of animal is a good indicator of myiasis.
Affected animals become depressed, stand with their
heads down, anorectic, and attempt to bite the infested
areas13 with which many clinical signs of the present
case also conform well.
Miyasis in dogs and cats has limited prophylactic and
therapy alternatives and following its diagnosis a prompt
treatment should be initiated. In order to value the extent
of the miyasis and remove the larvae mechanically, the
hair around the wound should be carefully shaved. As
those located deeper in the wound are not dislodged
easily, sedation or anesthesia may be required13.
Because the present case was lethargic and debilitated,
neither anesthesia nor sedation was found as necessary. The affected sites were examined at certain intervals
after the first treatment9 since unaffected fly eggs may
remain unrecognized here during the treatment13. The
suspected locations of the head and neck were clipped
and shaved during which most of the larvae were
observed to have been removed. The larvae visible in
the wound were mechanically taken away with an aid of
a forceps. Then as advocated9 a gentle massage with
hand was also applied to the skin along the vicinities of
the wounds to force the larvae set deeper to come out.
In a study9 on seven dogs with myiasis at different
parts of the body, the treatment included mechanical
removal of larvae, cleansing of the area and
administrations of injectable moxidectin and a broadspectrum
antimicrobial agent. Complete recovery was
achieved within 1.5 months except that of preputial
infestations which required 2.5 months. In the present
case, full recovery was obtained within 2 weeks. The
causes of this difference can be attributed to the location
of the lesion as is pointed out in the former study and
some variations between the treatments of both studies.
In this study exclusive of the former one, was used 10 %
ether iodoforme which to our clinical observations
promotes rapid healing especially in contaminated
wounds. The other cause of this difference could be
attributed to species variations. Wolf wound may heal
much faster than the dog, which is perhaps necessary for
these animals to survive longer in the wild life.
Namazi and Fallahzadeh15 have used a dilute
permanganate potassium solution to treat miyasis of a
60-year-old male farmer with squamous cell carcinoma
lesion on his lower right leg. This solution produce anoxic
and malodorous environment3 which forced the larvae
to evacuate the lesion15. In this study, for the
possibility of the presence of the worms located deeper
or hidden under the skin, 10% ether'd iodoforme was
administered to the region in stead of the former solution
once a day during three days. Iodoforme containing
about 29 parts of pure iodine in 30, the carbon and
hydrogen with which it is associated render the iodine
non irritant, when applied topically16. This agent
perhaps with similar actions as permanganate potassium
solution3 was found to force the larvae to expose from
the wound. In addition to the characteristics mentioned it
has been reported to have antiseptic, analgesic and
anaesthetic effects16,17. To our own personal
observations, this agent also has a capability to promote
cicatrization, due to its expected stimulatory effect on
inflammatory process16. The rapid healing of the
wounds of the present case can be partially attributed to
this action and partially to the quick healing characteristic
of the carnivorous skin1. Iodoforme is markedly
anesthetic when locally applied, owing to a benumbing
influence upon the peripheral nerves16. The
beneficiary effects of the anesthetic feature of the agent
could be appreciated with pleasant behavioral changes
in the animal immediately after the removal of all larvae
and administration of this agent.
A study9 on epidemiological and clinical features
and therapeutic considerations of myiasis in a cohort of
163 dogs monitored during 4 fly activity seasons
diagnosed it in seven dogs with overall incidence rate of
0.58%. Of these cases three had cutaneous myiasis of
the thigh, 2 myiasis of the ear canal, 2 myiasis of the
prepuce, 1 myiasis of the toes and 1 myiasis of the
vagina. In the present case, myiasis was diagnosed in
the ear canal, which along with findings of the previous
study9, indicates a predisposition of ear canal lesions
to this infestation. This predisposition can be attributed to
anatomical characteristics of the ear canal, a funnelshaped
tube extending from the external acoustic
meatus at the base of the pinna to the tympanic
membrane18. The ear canal is not well-ventilated in
the canids with long-pendulous-hair filled ear19, which
produce a humidity micro environment inducing infection9. Otitis with malodor discharge may readily attract fly
to strike to the region14. On the other hand, the canids
with erect ear like the wild wolf have an inclination to the
strike of biting flies18 that results in dermatitis which
can be associated with myiasis if extended into ear canal
and left untreated. The hair in the head makes the ear
canal an attractive site for larviposition9. The ear canal
of the present case contained malodorous discharge
associated with many larvae. Even though it was unclear
in the present case whether or not infected and
malodorous dermatitis has any affect, these factors
attract the fly strike with a resultant of myiasis in the
other parts of the body9,13.
In the present case, external otitis may have
aggravated the problem. Farkas et al.8 and Schnur et
al.10 have also reported myiasis in various sites on the
bodies of dogs. Infested body sites included limbs (six
cases), external genitalia (two), ears (three), nose (one)
and neck (one)8. These infected locations also shows
that the ear is one of the potential sites for the
development of miyasis. Cramer-Ribeiro et al.19 also
found that the ear was the body site most frequently
infested by fly in dogs. They and Orfanou et al9
determined that the genital areas were other more
frequently infested places. The present authors thus
agree with those8 who suggested that as wounded
animals are at higher risk of infestation both owners and
veterinarians should pay regular attention to any wounds
and to the natural orifices of their animals, especially
during the fly activity seasons.
Myiasis causes significant losses in farm animals, in
contrast, few cases have been reported in domestic carnivores8,9,19. As the present study reports a
single case, it apparently have no a statistical value.
However, when the clinical signs of the case were
evaluated as a whole it could readily be understand how
the wounded carnivores are actually under a great risk
from myiasis. Carnivore animals by their natures always
have a tendency to fighting for food, on territory disputes
or mating or are attacked by large carnivores2. If the
injury occurs during fly activity seasons and is left
untreated as mostly the case for the wild animals and
stray dogs8,9, it would not be difficulty to anticipate
the extent of the danger of myiasis that they are likely to
experience. These facts appear to validate the
assumption that the risk of myiasis in stray dogs and also
wild carnivores is much higher than reported8,9.
However, this result needs further confirmation.
Some studies8,9 have reported that the majority of
the dogs underwent myiasis were males and the
condition was attributed to wounding due to inter-dog
aggression, territorial behavior and fights8. The
possible causes of the wolf skin injuries have noted
above, of which some correspond to those noted before8. The present case was male and the type and the
location of the wounds draw attention to the similar
causes.
To our knowledge, this is the first report in the wild
wolf in Turkey. It appears that myiasis is a life treating
condition for the wild animals. Prophylactic measure
such as ivermectin and doramectin administration may
be applied to the animals in national conservation parks.
However, such a measure should be applied before the
occurrence of myiasis, since in case of myiasis,
ivermectin alone has been found to be ineffective and
adjunct therapies such as mechanical removal of larvae
and systemic antibiotic administration have been
employed for having a full recovery8,9. A similar
procedure was pursued during the treatment of the
present case and a successful conclusion was obtained.
In summary, the present case report indicates that in
the wild life the wounded wolves are at higher risk of
miyasis which may cause dead unless early diagnosis
plus prompt and effective treatment are applied.
Therefore, it was suggested that the wounded wild
animals should be reported rapidly to responsible
authorities in order to tackle with such conditions
effectively.
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