myiasis

noun

my·​ia·​sis mī-ˈī-ə-səs 

mē-

plural myiases mī-ˈī-ə-ˌsēz 

mē-

: infestation with fly maggots

Examples of myiasis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images Mexico's Health Ministry issued an epidemiological alert this month after the first human case of screwworm myiasis was confirmed on April 17 in a 77-year-old woman living in the southern state of Chiapas. —CBS News, 11 May 2025

There have been at least three human cases of screwworm myiasis in the US in recent years: In 2014, a 26-year-old US woman fell asleep on a beach in the Dominican Republic after drinking and came home with an infestation of screwworm larvae in her ear. —Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 May 2025

Such an infestation is known as New World screwworm myiasis. —Li Cohen, CBS News, 6 Jan. 2025

Infections, known medically as myiasis, occur when larvae infests human tissue. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

And that’s a common enough problem that there’s a medical term for maggot infestation: myiasis, reported throughout human history, including in the eyes and rectum. —National Geographic, 14 Feb. 2017

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek myia fly — more at midge

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for myiasis

• amebiasis
• candidiasis
• filariasis
• leishmaniasis
• mydriasis
• pityriasis
• archdiocese
• psoriasis
• cholelithiasis
• elephantiasis
• nephrolithiasis
• schistosomiasis

Medical Definition

myiasis

noun

my·​ia·​sis mī-ˈī-ə-səs  mē- 

plural myiases -ˌsēz 

: infestation with fly maggots