Use of development data to estimate colonization time of the myiasis-causing fly, chrysomya bezziana (dipteral : calliphoridae) collected from human wounds

Abstract

Forensic entomological techniques are highly accepted for forensic investigations all over the world, especially to estimate the time of colonization (TOC) as related to the postmortem interval (PMI) of human or other vertebrate remains as well as with cases of neglect or abuse. Here, the accumulated degree days (ADD) method was used to calculate the TOC as related to three cases of myiasis associated with individuals admitted to the teaching hospital, Peradeniya during 2016. Chrysomya bezziana was recorded as the responsible species for all three cases. Chrysomya bezziana is an obligatory myiasis-causing fly species commonly infesting human and farm animals mainly in tropical and subtropical countries. According to the present study, time of colonization of wounds by C. bezziana in these three cases ranged from two to six days. Accordingly, the present paper highlights the lack of information to apply such forensic entomology investigations and the future steps to be taken to improve this field in Sri Lanka. In the future, forensic medical and judiciary authorities in the country can incorporate this technique to pursue legal cases on verification of the malpractices of caregivers of wound patients in the professional and personal environment, based on the time scale calculated from above method.