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eCAM Advance Access published online on May 5, 2006
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nel021
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© The Author (2006). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
Received September 13, 2005
Accepted March 23, 2006

Review

Maggot Therapy: The Science and Implication for CAM Part I--History and Bacterial Resistance

Yamni Nigam 1 *, Alyson Bexfield 2, Stephen Thomas 3, and Norman Arthur Ratcliffe 4

1 School of Health Science, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
2 School of Health Science, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
3 Biosurgical Research Unit (SMTL), Princess of Wales Hospital, Coity Road, Bridgend CF31 1RQ, UK
4 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wales Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Yamni Nigam, E-mail: Y.Nigam{at}swansea.ac.uk


  Abstract

It is now a universally acknowledged fact that maggot therapy can be used successfully to treat chronic, long-standing, infected wounds, which have previously failed to respond to conventional treatment. Such wounds are typically characterized by the presence of necrotic tissue, underlying infection and poor healing. Maggot therapy employs the use of freshly emerged, sterile larvae of the common green-bottle fly, Phaenicia (Lucilia) sericata, and is a form of artificially induced myiasis in a controlled clinical situation. In this review article, we will discuss the role of maggots and their preparation for clinical use. Maggot therapy has the following three core beneficial effects on a wound: debridement, disinfection and enhanced healing. In part I we explore our current understanding of the mechanisms underlying these effects.

Keywords: Maggot debridement therapy; MRSA; antimicrobial; Lucilia sericata; wounds.
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