FLY STRIKE SKIN
The larvae lacerate the skin using their anterior hooks and begin to digest tissue by secreting proteolytic enzymes. Primary flies ( Lucilia sericata (green bottles) lay eggs on soiled areas of fleece or wounds. There are several species of fly that can commonly parasitise sheep ( Morris and Titchener, 1997), and these can be characterised as primary and secondary flies.
Blowfly strikes usually occur in waves, with the odour from the first strike attracting other flies. The females can lay over 1000 eggs, and under favourable conditions the life cycle may be completed in 7 days. These flies can also reproduce in the absence of living matter. The condition is caused by the invasion of living tissue by the larvae of dipteran flies. Rapid diagnosis and treatment is essential. If untreated, strike will rapidly deteriorate causing an increased respiratory and heart rate, ammonia toxicity, coma and death. Affected animals are restless, dull and reluctant to graze, and kick at the struck area. Fly strike is usually visible as a discoloured, moist area of wool which, on closer examination, reveals maggots and is foul-smelling. It is a costly disease of significant welfare concern ( Wall and Lovatt, 2015). It is common for 1-3% of sheep in a flock to be affected by fly strike ( Broughan and Wall, 2006). It is 10–14 mm long (from Blowfly strike, or myiasis, is an important cause of sheep loss in a number of countries across the world, and in particular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. The adult Lucilia sericata are usually a metallic green and can also have a copper green colour.
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