creeping eruption

a skin disease caused either by larvae of certain nematode worms (e.g. Ancylostoma braziliense) normally parasitic in dogs and cats or by the maggots of certain flies (see HYPODERMA , GASTEROPHILUS ). The larvae burrow within the skin tissues, their movements marked by long thin red lines that cause the patient intense irritation. The nematode infections are treated with albendazole or ivermectin; maggots can be surgically removed.