The first human case of the flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm has been detected, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worked with the Maryland Department of Health to confirm the case Aug. 4 through telediagnosis, the HHS told The Hill. The parasite was found in a person who had returned from travel to El Salvador, which is currently experiencing an outbreak of the parasite.
“Currently, the risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon wrote in an email to The Hill.
Reuters reported last week that beef industry sources were told the CDC found a case of the parasite in a person in Maryland who had returned from traveling to Guatemala.
The HHS did not give a reason for the discrepancy, and Maryland Department of Health has yet to answer questions from The Hill.
New World screwworms are a type of parasitic fly that lay eggs in warm-blooded animals such as cattle, horses and sometimes household pets, according to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Sometimes, the bug can infest people.
When the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow into open wounds in their host animal to feed, which can cause infection and even death.
The parasite is typically found in South America and the Caribbean, according to the CDC. But recent cases of the fly infecting cattle in Mexico have prompted the Trump administration to take action.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announced in May that the agency would suspend cattle, horse and bison imports from Mexico after the fly was detected in animals in Oaxaca and Veracruz.
Since then, the Trump administration has ramped up efforts to protect U.S. livestock and combat the potential spread of the parasite into the United States, including a plan to breed millions of sterile flies and spread them across southern Texas and Mexico.
The USDA estimates the parasite could cause $1.8 billion in economic damages to the Texas economy alone.
