Myiasis by Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Diptera: Sarcophagidae) in different mammals in Sardinia

Myiasis are infestations caused by the larvae of some Diptera Cyclorrhapha, belonging to different families, carrying out part of their life cycle feeding on host tissues, both in humans and in domestic and wild vertebrate animals. They can be classified into accidental, optional and obligatory myiasis. Larvae of Wohlfahrtia magnifica (Schiner, 1862) (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) parasitize several warm-blooded vertebrates and are responsible for traumatic myasis of living tissues, often invading wounds and the anus or urogenital system (Colerbrook E, Wall R, 2004, Veterinary Parasitology, 120: 251-274). Throughout the Mediterranean basin and eastern Europe extending eastward into China, this species is commonly a much more prevalent and clinical important agent of myasis in livestock (Hall M J R, 1997, Parassitologia, 39: 409-413; Hall M J R, Farkas R, 2000, Manual of Paleartic Diptera: Science Herald, Budapest, Hungary, 978 pp). This fly has been a particular problem in livestock in central and eastern Europe, and high prevalence of wohlfahrtiosis have been reported for example in Hungary (Farkas R et al,1997, Vet Parasitol, 69: 133-144), in Greece and Crete (Sotiraki S et al, 2002, in Good M et al, Mange and Myasis of Livestock. COST Action 833, EUR 20364, 74), in Bulgaria (Nedelchev N K, Veterinarna Sbirka, 86: 33-35), in Romania (Lehrer A Z et al, 1988, Ann Med Vet, 132: 475-481; Lehrer A Z et al, 1991, Bull Rech Agronom Gembloux, 26: 563-567) and in the former USSR (Pokidov I I, Goncharov A P, 1971, Veterinariya, 7: 25-31). The primary agent of myasis in southern Spain also appears to be W. magnifica (Martinez R I, 1987, Isr Vet Med, 43: 34-41). Reports of wohlfahrtiosis in Italy are scant and myasis caused by this fly have been recorded in grazing animals in Tuscany and Abruzzo Regions (Martinez R and Lecquercq M, 1994, Notes fauniques de Gembloux, 28: 53-60), in one human being (Iori A et al, 1999, Parassitologia, 41: 583-585) and in sheeps from Central Italy (Giangaspero A et al, 2010, Parassitologia, 52 (No.1-2): 171). Given the limited number of W. magnifica infection reported in Italy, the aim of this work was to describe cases of myasis in different mammals in Sardinia. In the following note four cases of myiasis by W. magnifica are reported, between 2010 and 2011, on three live animals and on a dead one. Part of the samples analyzed were found during the diagnostic activities of the IZS of Sardinia. Larvae extracted from their hosts were immersed in water at 80°C for 30 seconds, fixed in 70% ethanol and subsequently included in slides, after preparation, for microscopic analysis. The animals from which the larvae were extracted were a cat, a dog, a goat and a wild boar. The first case concerns a young stray cat found in the town of Cagliari (on 23.VIII.2010), that presented an imposing nose, palate and tongue myiasis, with numerous II instar larvae of W. magnifica. The second case concerns a young goat (Capra hircus) with evident neck abscess due to Staphylococcus aureus subsp. anaerobius, isolated for the first time in Sardinia in 2004 (Cabras PA et al, 2011, 19th International Congress FeMeSPRum, Belgrade, Serbia), from a herd in Talana, from which numerous III instar of W. magnifica larvae were extracted (on16.IX.2011). Almost all the individuals in the herd presented such abscesses probably aggravated by myiasis, as in this case. The third case involved a dog living in the village of Castiadas, on which an important post surgical myiasis on the tail, with numerous III instar larvae was found (on 2.X.2011). The last case was a wild boar (Sus scrofa meridionalis) found dead (on 4.X.2011) in the territory of Tortoli, with a traumatic myiasis from which one III instar larvae of W. magnifica was extracted and which presented a incipient colonization of Diptera Calliphoridae I instar larvae. From these data it emerges that: the presence of W. magnifica in Sardinia, already known also for a case of human auricolar myiasis (Panu F et al, 2000, The Journal of Laryngology and Otology, 114, 6: 450-452) is confirmed; that this Sarcophagid can parasitize livestock, domestic and wild animalsboth in urban settings (Cagliari and Castiadas) and in rural areas and pastures (Talana), and in forests and natural areas (Tortolì). Moreover, the possibility that W. magnifica can parasitize man also makes it a species of sanitary interest for public health too.The importance of this species in the forensic field should not be underestimated since the discovery of larvae of W. magnifica in human sores or wounds or in animals died due to mistreatment could provide useful information to investigators in cases of criminal investigations.