SUPPLEMENT 729 



Gastricolous Oestridae (Creeping Disease). 



Syn. : Creeping eruption ; Larva migrans ; H autmaulwurf ; Dermatomyiasis 

 linearis migrans oestrosa ; Hyponomoderma ; Dermatitis linear is migrans; Liuea 

 migrans; Epidermiditis linearis migrans Wolossatik j Kriechkrankheit ; Haut- 

 kratzschorf ; Myiase hypodermique. 



Under the name " creeping disease," R. J. Lee 1 has recorded 

 a peculiar affection of the skin in a three year old girl, which appeared 

 first in the form of pale red, thread-like irregular protuberances, 

 which seemed partly to become entwined on the right malleolns 

 and had spread without causing special disturbances to the abdomen. 

 Dickinson, Fox and Duckworth 2 reported, in connection with this, 

 that they observed a growth of this red line of about i in. per 

 diem. Since then a number of similar cases have been reported 

 which, without doubt, were cases of larvae creeping under the 

 skin. Crocker 3 saw such a case in a two year old girl, the progress 

 of the red line varying in one night between 4 and 7^ in. In Europe 

 the first case was observed in Vienna, by v. Neumann and Rille, 4 

 also in a two year old girl. 



v. Samson-Himmelstjerna, 5 Sokoloff, 6 Rawnitzky 7 found larvae 

 at the end of the tract, which had been recorded as larvae of Gastro- 

 philus by Cholodowsky. 8 According to Blanchard (Arch. f. Par., 

 1901) the larvae were those of Hypoderma boms. 



How these larvae get into the skin has not yet been definitely 

 ascertained ; v. Samson is of the opinion that they usually obtain 

 access to man as larvae, Stelwagon 9 believes that the infection 

 generally occurs in a seaside watering place; a patient of 

 Ehrmann's 10 fell ill when he returned from the manoeuvres, where 

 he had lain for some time on the ground. Here and there it is 

 reported that the eruption was preceded for a longer or shorter time 

 by lesions of the skin (incised wounds, furuncles, slight excoriations, 

 v. Harlingen 11 ). 



Twice it has been suggested that perhaps the parasites might come 

 from vineyard snails (Crocker, Lenglet and Delaunay 12 ), and it is 



1 R. J. "L^, Journ. Clin. Soc: Land., November 27, 1874. 



2 Dickinson, Fox and Duckworth, ibid., 1875. 



3 Crocker, " Diseases of the Skin," 1893 ; " Atlas of the Diseases of the Skin." 



4 v. Neumann and Rille, Wien. klin. Wochenschr., 1895 ; Dermatologenkongr.^\*z> 1895. 



5 v. Samson-Himmelstjerna, Wratsch, 1895; Arch.f. Derm. u. Syph., 1897. 



6 Sokoloff, Wratsch, 1896. 



7 Rawnitzky, Derm. Zeiischr., v, p. 704. 



8 Cholodowsky, Wratsck, 1896. 



' Stelwagon, Journ. Cut. Dis., xxii, 8. 



10 Ehrmann, Wien. derm. Ges., November 17, 1897. 



11 v. Harlingen, Amer. Journ. of Med. Sci., 1902. 



12 Lenglet and Delaunay, Annal. de Derm, et de Syph., 1904. 



