Are Bot Flies In North America: Exploring Their Presence And Impact

How prevalent are Botflies in the United States? While myiasis caused by D. hominis is infrequently observed in the United States, it is notably widespread among individuals residing in or visiting tropical regions throughout the Americas. In these areas, the female human botfly employs an intriguing reproductive strategy. She deposits her eggs on an intermediate host, such as a mosquito or fly, which then serves as a vector that transfers the eggs onto the skin of humans during feeding. This unique life cycle is more commonly encountered in tropical regions than in the United States. (Note: The date “7th October 2018” seems unrelated to the topic and has been omitted.)

Bot flies, specifically the Dermatobia hominis species, are primarily found in the Americas. They have a distribution that spans from southern Mexico, extending through Central America, and reaching various parts of South America, all the way to the northern regions of Chile and Argentina. In the United States, cases of human bot fly myiasis are predominantly encountered in individuals who have traveled to rural areas within these endemic countries in the Americas.