The U.S. has confirmed a uncommon human case of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that sometimes infects livestock however could be lethal to individuals too.
A Maryland resident suffered an infestation of the screwworm after touring to El Salvador, the U.S. Division of Well being and Human Companies (HHS) instructed TIME in an electronic mail. Reuters first reported the information. Central America is presently grappling with outbreaks of the harmful pest, which have been threatening livestock and infecting individuals. The U.S. embassy in Nicaragua mentioned in July that greater than 120 human circumstances of screwworm infestation had been reported within the final yr.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the Maryland case on Aug. 4 after reviewing photographs of the insect inflicting the infestation, HHS mentioned.
“That is the primary human case of travel-associated New World screwworm [infestation] from an outbreak-affected nation recognized in the US,” the company mentioned. “At present, the chance to public well being in the US from this introduction could be very low.”
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The U.S. cattle and livestock trade has reportedly been shaken by the information of the human case. Screwworm can unfold quickly and might kill totally grown cows in seven to 10 days, in keeping with the Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation. The pest threatens $100 billion of U.S. financial exercise tied to the cattle and livestock trade, the U.S. Division of Agriculture mentioned earlier this month.
New World screwworm is a kind of fly that lays eggs within the open wounds or mucous membranes, resembling nasal passages, of mammals and birds. When the eggs hatch, maggots emerge, which then feast on wholesome tissue, in keeping with the CDC. The identify “screwworm” refers back to the approach the maggots burrow into flesh with their sharp mouth hooks.
The screwworms may cause intensive tissue harm and bacterial superinfection, the CDC says. Infestations are very painful and could be lethal if not handled promptly. There is no such thing as a authorised human therapy for screwworm infestations. Maggots, which might quantity within the a whole lot, should be eliminated manually by a medical supplier.
Restricted info has been made public in regards to the Maryland resident who suffered the screwworm infestation, however state well being officers mentioned the particular person has recovered, The Herald-Mail reported. A Maryland well being division spokesman instructed the outlet that there was no indication that the particular person’s infestation had unfold to different individuals or animals.
Information of the Maryland case comes simply days after the U.S. authorities introduced steps to stop screwworm outbreaks and defend the U.S. cattle and livestock trade from the pest. These measures embrace permitting the emergency use of veterinary medicine to deal with or forestall infestations in animals and the constructing of a sterile fly facility in Texas. New World screwworm was eradicated from the U.S. within the Nineteen Sixties after the discharge of swarms of sterilized male screwworm flies that mated with wild feminine screwworms, which then produced infertile eggs.
The identical method was used to regulate a small screwworm outbreak in Florida in 2017.
Although screwworm infections in individuals are uncommon within the U.S., there have been a handful of circumstances lately involving vacationers returning to the nation from areas the place the pest is endemic. In 2023, a traveler with a surgical wound returned to Arkansas with a screwworm infestation after visiting Argentina and Brazil, in keeping with the CDC. Final yr, a traveler returned to Florida with an infestation they’d acquired on trip within the Dominican Republic.
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