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Caring for animals in the high mountains of Honduras
By Rodger Harrison, President Paramedics For Children
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Teaching proper animal care to the people of the high mountains of Honduras is just one of the many community projects
of Paramedics For Children. Although a paramedic by trade I am often called upon to care for animals too. Although
there are some exceptions to the rule many Hondurans don't usually care for their animals as well as they should. So when the need arises I sometimes mount my trusty Kawasaki Mule and head up into the mountains to do what I can to alleviate the pain in some of our neighbor's animals. Often we are treating animals for parasites. One of the most nasty parasites that we come across is the Honduran Bot Fly, as seen in the attached photos. Dermatobia hominis or the Bot Fly is endemic to forest and jungle regions of Central and South America. Adult flies will capture other insects, such as mosquito's, and will lay eggs on them. These insects then act as vectors when they land on warm-blooded mammal. The larvae sense the increase in temperature and hatch. Once deposited, the larvae burrow into the subcutaneous tissue and grow |
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for up to 6 weeks. Some species migrate through the host body to continue its growth at a separate location,
but D. hominis does not migrate. At maturity, the larvae emerge, fall to the ground, and pupate into adult flies.
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