Improving Maggot Therapy: Mass Rearing And Molecular Identification of Lucilia Sericata (Meigen, 1826) Larvae In Maggotarium, School of Health, Shiraz

Background: Lucilia sericata as a member of the family Caliphoridae has a complete metamorphosis. They feed on on necrotic and livingtissues as necrophage species. Sterile larvae of this species has been utilized to heal wounds for decades. The aim of this study were to establish the breeding and identifying of the L.sericata species based on morphological and molecular techniques. Freshly harvested grown under standard conditions in the maggotarium of Health School , Shiraz of. They were screened using conventional morphology, then Primarily, different parameters related to larvae were measured morphologically. Subsequently, DNA was extracted and molecular marker of cytochrome C oxidase (co1) was amplified using PCR assay and sequence data were used for molecular and phylogenetic analysis. Result: In this study, 50 samples which grown collected from maggotarium were identified as L. sericata using morphological and molecular methods. This species was placed in a separate clade of the phylogenetic tree based on COI nucleotide sequences of different species and has a phylogenetic similarity to Lucilia purpurascens species of flies. Conclusion: Larval therapy especially by Lucilia sericata is a promising strategy in wound healing. Due to the importance of larval species in this technique, having an accurate knowledge of aplicable species leads to a proper larval therapy. Increasing in resistance of wounds to antibiotics has led to the use of maggot therapy in the past. Larval therapy is a low-cost, non-surgical way to remove dead tissue (predecessors and necrosis) in chronic wounds and prevents excessive soft tissue damage and infection from reaching the underlying tissues and bones (osteomyelitis). Maggot therapy is a promising way to prevent amputation, especially in people with diabetes.

Larval therapy from the patient’s perspective

Objective: to describe the perception of the patient undergoing larval therapy. Method: qualitative, exploratory-descriptive study, using oral history as a data collection technique and methodological framework, in the form of oral life history. Six patients with difficult-to-heal wounds participated in the study, followed by the dressing committee of a teaching hospital in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, undergoing larval therapy. Results: the testimonies of the patients/collaborators point to various values, such as belief, fear, acceptance, improvement of the wound and pain. They revealed that there is no major objection and that clarification regarding the treatment instituted proved to be important in the acceptance decision. Conclusion: the feelings expressed by the patients, such as improvement of the wound, reduction of pain and odor, optimization of the healing process, emergence of sparks of hope regarding the return to their life, among others, translate the benefits of Larval Therapy (LT). Despite the seizure caused by the animal’s movement over the affected area and the disgust it causes to some professionals and people, LT was considered wonderful, especially for its effectiveness in cleaning the wound without the need for new invasive procedures such as cutting and surgical debridement.

Evaluation of Larval Therapy Compared to Antibiotic Therapy in the Treatment of Skin Wounds in Rabbits

Larval therapy (LT) is a therapeutic modality that uses larvae of necrophagous flies for the treatment of wounds. The use of this therapy presents several benefits, due to the action of the larvae that remove necrotic tissue selectively, exercising antimicrobial action, and promoting healing. There are situations in which LT proves to be the only or the best alternative for the patient, such as wounds infected by multidrug-resistant microorganisms or when treatment difficulties may lead to an indication for amputation. The purpose of this study was to compare the efficiency of LT, using larvae of Chrysomya megacephala, with that of antibiotic therapy in the treatment of cutaneous wounds infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Twenty-four rabbits were used to perform the experiment, distributed in four groups: group 1, induced wound without bacterial infection; group 2, induced wound with bacterial infection; group 3, induced wound with bacterial infection and antibiotic therapy; group 4, induced wound with bacterial infection and LT. The macroscopic, microscopic, and statistical analyses indicated that LT was as effective as antibiotic therapy in wound healing.

Safety and efficacy of larval therapy on treating leg ulcers: a protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

IntroductionLeg ulcers (LUs) not only seriously affect life and work of patients, but also bring huge economic burden to the society. As a potential underused biological debridement, larval therapy provides help for the treatment of LUs. The purpose of our research is to assess whether patients with LUs can benefit from larval therapy.Methods and analysisThe following electronic databases will be searched: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure Database, Wanfang Database and Chinese Biological Medicine. Randomised controlled trials are eligible for inclusion. There will be no restrictions with respect to language and search date is up to June 2020. Primary outcomes investigated are complete healing rate after treatment, time to ulcer healing, reduction of wound surface area and adverse events. Risk ratios will be used for categorical data; weighted mean difference will be used for measurement data. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis will be considered if heterogeneity exists. The results of data synthesis will be performed by narrative summary and quantitative analysis.Ethics and disseminationThis systematic review does not require the approval of the ethics committee because individual data on patients are not collected. The results of the study will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020176953.

Maggot Debridement Therapy in Malaysia

Maggot therapy, also known as maggot debridement therapy, larval therapy, biodebridement, or biosurgery, is a type of biotherapy involving the intentional application of live, disinfected fly larvae or maggots into the nonhealing wound of a human or animal to debride the necrotic wound, reduce bacterial contamination of the wound as well as enhance the formation of healthy granulation tissue and stimulate healing in nonhealing wounds. In addition, van der Plas et al reported that the use of the medicinal larvae as natural remover of necrotic and infected tissue had prevented amputation in 11 selected patients. In Malaysia, Aaron et al had demonstrated prevention of amputation in 25 patients.

Diversity of Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae (Diptera: Oestroidea) in a Mangrove, Restinga, and Forest Landscapes From a Lagoon Complex on an Atlantic Forest Coastline (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Diptera Mesembrinellidae present great ecological importance as potential bioindicators and Calliphoridae stand out for their medical-sanitary importance as potential vectors of pathogens and causes of human and animal diseases such as myiasis. They beneficially aid in elucidating crimes in forensic entomology, contributing to determine the postmortem interval (PMI) and assisting in the healing process of necrotic wounds in larval therapy. This study aimed to inventory the Calliphoridae and Mesembrinellidae fauna in order to evaluate structural parameters and to apply faunal indexes in catching species in the Itaipu–Piratininga lagoon complex, in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro), Brazil. The collections were carried out monthly from September 2015 to August 2016 with fish bait (sardines) exposed for 48 h, totaling six traps installed in three physiognomies (mangrove, ombrophilous forest, and restinga). In total, 9,773 individuals were captured, divided into two families, five genera, and 11 species. Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) was the predominant species, while Mesembrinella bellardiana (Aldrich, 1922) was the least representative species, indicating the preservation level of this ecosystem. Ombrophilous forest was the physiognomy with greater diversity and restinga was the physiognomy with greater species dominance. The similarity index indicated greater similarity among the mangrove and restinga populations.