Flesh-eating parasites are suspected to have attacked 30 dogs in the past two months, officials said yesterday.
This more than doubles the figure previously reported by two private vets who first sounded the alarm and sent larvae samples to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.
The South China Morning Post revealed on Monday that flesh-eating maggots had been found in dogs in Tai Po and the New Territories, and they were likely to be from the screw worm fly Chrysomia bezziana.
A department spokeswoman said 30 reports had been filed by private vets. Almost all cases involved dogs, with at least one cat. It was not clear if all survived.
'They are still suspected cases. We can't confirm if it's really screw worms just yet,' she said. 'Larvae samples have been sent to Britain to identify the fly species and we expect to know the result later this week.' Unlike common maggots which consume dead tissue, screw worm larvae feed on the flesh wounds of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The fly has not been previously detected in Hong Kong but exists in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Papua New Guinea.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it had also sent samples to the department, but its chief veterinary surgeon, Dr Margaret Bradley, appealed for calm.
She said the incidence of other species of maggots was slightly higher this year but there was no cause for alarm. 'In all five cases we have treated [at the society], the maggots were feeding on dead tissue rather than fresh wounds. This would indicate they were not screw worms,' she said.