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Gasterophilus (medicine)


Gasterophilus


A genus of botflies (horse botflies or warble flies) that cause enteric myiasis in domestic and wild horses and other equids. The bee-like adult attaches eggs to the hairs of the legs or body of the horse; infective eggs hatch when contacted by the lips of the horse, and the larvae attach to, penetrate, and are swallowed or burrow through the tissues to the stomach, where they adhere. After some months, the larvae pass out with the faeces, pupate, and emerge as adults. Moderate infection produces little or no symptomatology; heavy infection can cause severe digestive disorders. Important species include Gasterophilus haemorrhoidalis (the redtailed botflies, a nose fly); Gasterophilus intestinalis (the common horse botfly or nit fly), whose larvae are found in the oesophageal portion of the stomach; Gasterophilus nasalis or Gasterophilus veterinus (chin fly or throat botfly), found in the throat or under the jaws of the horse, the larvae migrating to the pyloric portion of the stomach or the anterior duodenum; and Gasterophilus pecuorum (the dark-winged horsefly), the most common and pathogenic species in Europe (absent in the U.S.).

Synonym: Gastrophilus.

Origin: G. Gaster, belly, stomach, + philos, fond