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Journal of Medical Case Reports
Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Case report

An exotic abscess within the United Kingdom from The Gambia: a case report

Authors: Estelle Hong How, Darren Yap, Nik Mbakada

Published in: Journal of Medical Case Reports | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Furuncular myiasis is a parasitic infection of a live mammal by fly larvae commonly seen in Africa. However, with an increase in international tourism, there is a significant rise in exotic infection in non-endemic areas which can pose a diagnostic challenge to doctors and potentially lead to delay in treatment. From the current literature, only 12 cases were reported in the UK.

Case presentation

We report an unusual case of multiple abscesses in a 32-year-old white British woman presenting to our Emergency department in the UK after returning from a holiday in The Gambia, West Africa. She did not complain of systemic symptoms and was otherwise fit and healthy with no significant past medical history. During examination, two maggots were expressed from the abscesses by applying lateral pressure to each lesion. The larvae were found to be Cordylobia anthropophaga. She was discharged with antibiotics to prevent secondary infection with no further follow-up.

Conclusion

With globalization, the need for increasing awareness of tropical diseases has become important to win the battle against future epidemics.
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Metadata
Title
An exotic abscess within the United Kingdom from The Gambia: a case report
Authors
Estelle Hong How
Darren Yap
Nik Mbakada
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Medical Case Reports / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1752-1947
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-017-1472-3

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