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Monthy Case Studies - 2002
Case #98 - December, 2002
A 5-year-old girl developed an earache after vacationing in Belize with her parents. A few months after returning from the vacation, her parents took her to a New York City hospital for the earache where a biopsy specimen was taken from her left ear. Her parents reported that she had gone swimming during the trip. The following images are from H & E (hematoxylin and eosin) stained sections of the biopsy. What is your diagnosis? Based on what criteria?
Figure A
Figure B
Figure C
Figure D
Answer to Case #98
This was a case of myiasis caused by the larva of a fly, probably in the family Oestridae or Calliphoridae. Diagnostic features observed included:
- the presence of chitinous spines (yellow), suggestive of an insect larvae (Figures A and C). Large spines such as these are characteristic of bot fly larvae.
- evidence of trachea (T) with circular thickenings is characteristic of insect larvae (Figure B).
More on: Myiasis
Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving. On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.
