anyone know more about the botflys in Belize? sounds nasty and we don't want to have that experience for sure. does it happen more in some areas than in others or pretty much everywhere? is there any season where this problem is more likely or is it year round? any other advice on preventatives other than wearing hats, covering with clothes, lots of DEET insect repellent. we are wanting to snorkel and scuba dive is there still a risk out in the water?

Slim to none in the bush or beach.

Had one experience with the botfly. My wife and I drug our mattress out on the deck one beautiful night in Placencia. 5 weeks later she had a larvae the size of her thumbnail removed from her head. Sleep inside or in a bug net. Easy precautions and then no problems.

GROSSSSS ! Saw a special on a nature show about that , ugh .... Your poor wife !

Our family was in Belize from March 11-19th. We stayed near Belmopan for 3 nights, then the rest of the time on Ambergris Caye. Two weeks after arriving home, my husband noticed that 2 bites on his head were really bothering him - painful, scabbed over. Then, his forehead swelled up (he said it was like silly putty if he poked it). He looked like he'd been in a fight. The next day was even worse - under his right eye it was swollen to the size of a golf ball. It turns out that he had 2 botfly larvae infested in his head - has managed to get rid of one of them, still waiting for the other to surface.
Thankfully neither of our kids were infested. Our best guess is that he got the bites when we went horseback riding.

HOLY COW !!!!!! Sorry for you both truly , I AM !!! Yikes ! Faith

Here is a website about one man's experience with a botfly larvae..

BTW, you don't get them from the botfly themselves - they arrive via mosquito.

"An egg-laden female botfly captures a night-flying female mosquito and glues her eggs on to it. When the mosquito is released and bites a victim, the host's body heat triggers an egg to hatch. It falls off and burrows in. The larva secures itself with two anal hooks, secreting an antibiotic into its burrow, which staves off competing bacteria and fungi. Its spiracle pokes out of the tiny hole, and a small mound forms which will grow to the size of a goose egg before the mature larva falls out. "

LOVELY!

See more: http://www.vexman.com/botfly.htm

That is the same thing I read a few months ago , I am not queasy nor uneasy with bugs etc. BUT .... Ya gotta draw the line somewhere !!!!! OUCH and ICK , nature will never cease to amaze me .... Faith .

I've known about those botflies for a while -- really disgusting aren't they? But there are yucky things all over. The Hong Kong Medical Journal just published an article about a woman who complained of a bloody nose. She visited a couple of doctors before one noticed something peeking out of her nose. Turns out she'd gone swimming, and a leech had lodged in her nostril. Triple yuck! If you want to find the article, do a Google search on leech Hong Kong medical journal.

There are varieties of botflies in the U.S. as well. Their eggs mostly affect small animals like squirrels.

For what it's worth, I've been traveling to all corners of Belize as well as to other countries in Central America for almost 15 years and have never had a botfly larva.

While those who get them usually (and understandably) make a point of posting their experience, the vast majority -- probably 99.99% -- of visitors to Belize or to any country in the region don't get them.

They're easy to take care of if do get them, too, as long as you know what they are.

--Lan Sluder

Fear has no beginning and no end. So find a country with no unique disease... OK let me make it easy for you:

Hong Kong: http://jwz.livejournal.com/464176.html
Egypt: Read about Schistosomiasis (bilharzia) at http://touregypt.net/emerg.htm
Singapore: Read about cutaneous larva at http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/t...ore_SGP_4.html
Iran: malaria ia rampent http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Mexico: Cutaneous Larva, Forget Akumal http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
India: Japanese Encaphalitis, malaria, Cutaneous larvae, Dengue and more http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Conjuctoval larvae: http://www.ijo.in/article.asp?issn=0...aulast=Chandra
Puero Rico: Dengue, Cutaneous Larvae http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
US Virgin islands: Like Puerto Rico, http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Barbados: Like Puerto Rico, http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Canada: Avian Flu http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/iyh-vsv/disea...-aviare_e.html
USA: Intestinal Miasis http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00000503.htm
Argentina: Malaria: http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Brazil: Yellow Fever, malaria, Dengue http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
Australia: Lyme Disease, http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
New Zealand: Cutaneous larva, http://www.europ-assistance.com/uk/i...&Submit=OK
East Africa: Lunds fly: http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/...ary/geary.html

I am no Dr. but please dont let fear rule where you want to go. Do read about the perils of visiting a destination and take proper precautions. Happy Travels!!!