The Department of Health and Human Services said the case poses a ‘very low’ risk to public health in the United States.
The first travel-related human case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been detected in the United States, involving an individual in Maryland, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Aug. 25.
The person was discovered to be infected with the New World screwworm parasite after returning to Maryland from El Salvador, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
Nixon said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with the Maryland Department of Health to investigate the case and confirmed the infection on Aug. 4 through telediagnosis.
“This is the first human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis (parasitic infestation of fly larvae) from an outbreak-affected country identified in the United States,” the spokesperson said.
Nixon said that the case posed a “very low” risk to public health in the United States. Information about the patient’s condition or symptoms was not immediately available.
Maryland Health Department spokesperson David McCallister told The Epoch Times by email that the patient has recovered from the infection and that there was no sign of transmission to other people or animals.
“Currently, the risk to public and animal health in Maryland from this introduction is very low,” McCallister stated, calling the detection “a timely reminder for health care providers, livestock owners and others to maintain vigilance through routine monitoring.”
Screwworms are known to infect livestock, wildlife, and, in rare cases, humans. Screwworm fly maggots burrow into the skin of living animals and can sometimes inflict serious or fatal damage.
The CDC stated on its website that people who travel to South America and the Caribbean with an open wound are at higher risk of becoming infested.
Signs and symptoms of screwworm infestations include irritated behavior, head shaking, a decaying odor, and the presence of maggots, or fly larvae, in wounds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“NWS infestations are very painful. If you have an NWS infestation, you may see maggots (larvae) around or in an open wound. They could also be in your nose, eyes, or mouth,” the CDC stated on its website.
“Wounds as small as a tick bite may attract a female fly to feed and lay her eggs. One female can lay 200–300 eggs at a time and may lay up to 3,000 eggs during her 10- to 30-day lifespan.”
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins traveled to Texas on Aug. 15 to unveil the department’s five-pronged plan to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm from Mexico.
These measures include building a sterile fly production facility in Texas, hiring patrol officers known as “Tick Riders,” and training detector dogs to trace screwworm infestations in livestock and other animals at the border, according to the USDA statement.
“We have assessed the information on the ground in Mexico and have determined we must construct an additional sterile fly production facility in the United States to stop the northward advancement of this terrible pest that is threatening American cattle production,” Rollins said.
U.S. health officials have not detected any new cases of the screwworm in animals in the United States since a small outbreak in Key deer in Florida was eradicated in early 2017, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The USDA stated that inspections of animals and carcasses at slaughterhouses are conducted to ensure the safety of the food supply.
Screwworm is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and South American nations. In recent years, cases have spread to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Mexico, according to the USDA.
In May, the U.S. government halted imports of live cattle, horses, and bison across the southern border with Mexico because of the northward spread of the pest. The USDA stated that the parasite poses risks to the nation’s ranching community, food supply, and national security.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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