WASHINGTON (WDCW) - The country's first human case of the New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite already wreaking havoc on cattle and driving up beef prices, has been reported in Maryland, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The announcement was first reported by Reuters and confirmed to Nexstar. In a statement, an HHS spokesperson said the patient had recently returned from El Salvador. The Maryland Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated the case in early August and confirmed the diagnosis.
"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 HHS statement shared with Nexstar read. "Currently, the risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low."
Maryland health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Nexstar's WDCW.
The CDC explains that New World screwworm (NWS) infestation occurs when NWS fly larvae (Cochliomyia hominivorax) take over the tissue or flesh of warm-blooded animals. In places where the flies are present, people can become infested.
The CDC says screwworm flies prefer open wounds on their victims and will lay eggs in them. Infestations are painful and can cause a variety of symptoms in humans, according to the agency:
* Unexplained wounds or sores that aren't healing
* Maggots around or in open wounds, or in your nose, eyes, or mouth
* Wounds or sores on your skin that worsen and/or are painful
* Open sores that are bleeding
* Foul-smelling odor from the infestation site
In addition to having open sores, you may be at an increased risk of developing an infestation if you have a weakened immune system or a medical condition that can cause bleeding or open sores.
NWS is not commonly found in the U.S. but rather in South America and the Caribbean. The CDC notes that people who travel to these areas, spend time among livestock animals, sleep outdoors, and have an open wound are at greater risk of becoming infested.
Earlier this summer, cattle from Mexico were barred from entering the U.S. over fears of spreading the flesh-eating parasite. Last week, HHS granted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration permission to issue Emergency Use Authorizations for drugs used to treat or prevent New World screwworm infestations in animals.
The pest was a problem for the American cattle industry for decades until the U.S. largely eradicated it in the 1970s by breeding and releasing sterile male flies to breed with wild females. It shut down fly factories on U.S. soil afterward.
The U.S. also plans to build a $750 million factory in southern Texas to breed billions of sterile New World screwworm flies, ramping up its efforts to keep the flesh-eating maggots in Mexico from crossing the border and damaging the American cattle industry.
Secretary Brooke Rollins announced earlier this month that the U.S. Department of Agriculture hopes to be producing and releasing sterile male New World screwworm flies into the wild within a year from the new factory on Moore Air Base outside Edinburg, Texas, about 20 miles from the border. She also said the USDA plans to deploy $100 million in technology, such as fly traps and lures, and step up border patrols by "tick riders" mounted on horseback and train dogs to sniff out the parasite.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.