Sterilization of Lucilia Sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Eggs for Maggot Debridement Therapy Publisher Pubmed



Bavani MM^{1, 2} ; Seyyedzadeh SJ^{1, 2} ; Radi E³ ; Malekian A³ ; Hoseinpour M⁴ ; Gholizadeh S^{1, 2}
Source: Journal of Medical Entomology Published:2022

Abstract

Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) is a therapy with the medical use of sterile fly larvae of certain species, particularly those within the Calliphoridae family including green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata (Meigan, Diptera: Calliphoridae), for treating chronically infected wounds and ulcers. Lucilia sericata flies were maintained under insectary conditions, and the eggs were sterilized using three treatments: hydrogen peroxide solutions, used as a hand disinfectant (Treatment 1 - T1), hydrogen peroxide, surface disinfectant (Treatment 2 - T2), and SaniHigene (Treatment 3 - T3) and the control (without treatment). All three treatment caused the complete sterilization of eggs, and no bacterial colonies were found on the blood agar culture. The egg hatching rate after 72 h was much higher than after 24 h. Egg mortality in hydrogen peroxide solutions, T1 and T2, was 3-4% and less than in solution T3 (13%). Owing to less mortality and more sterility of the eggs, the aforementioned solutions are suggested to be appropriate for sterility in maggot therapy. © 2022 The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved.