Health officials confirm first human screwworm case in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified a case of New World screwworm in an individual in Maryland earlier this month, Department of Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon told WORLD on Monday. The patient contracted the flesh-eating parasite after traveling to El Salvador, marking the first travel-associated case of the parasite in humans, according to the statement.

Screwworms are the larvae of a tropical fly that lays its eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals. The larvae hatch in the wounds and feed on the animal, using their hook-like teeth to burrow into the animal and make the wound sites deeper. Any warm-blooded animal may be infected, but human cases remain exceedingly rare. The flies present a great risk to the health of livestock and farm animals, along with wild animals, prompting U.S. officials to officially eradicate the bugs in the late 1960s.

What is the risk of an outbreak in the United States? The CDC reported that the one human case presented a very low health risk to Americans. Fears of the screwworm’s reemergence continued to grow since the bug began to reappear in areas throughout Central America and into Mexico, where it had been eradicated for decades. The flies present a great risk to the Texas cattle industry, prompting both state and federal leaders to take steps to prevent the screwworm from reentering the United States.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report in WORLD Magazine for more about how the screwworm can be eradicated.