Intestinal myiasis occurs when fly eggs or larvae that were previously deposited in food are ingested and survive in the gastrointestinal tract. Some infested patients are asymptomatic; others have abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. Although babies and small children seem more susceptible to intestinal myiasis than adults, probably the age distribution can be explained by childhood activity, fearlessness of wormlike creatures, and experimentation.1,2 The signs and symptoms of intestinal myiasis can easily be confused with other intestinal disturbances. In this article, we describe the clinical course of intestinal myiasis in a 4-year-old boy with severe abdominal pain.
CASE REPORT
The patient was a 4-year-old previously healthy boy residing in Osaka City, Japan.