A FLESH-EATING freeloader has found its way into the United States.
A rare human case of the parasite was found in Maryland after the person had traveled to El Salvador, according to officials.
Screwworms are known to have devastating effects on livestock[/caption]
Females lay eggs in open wounds, where they hatch into larvae[/caption]
New World screwworms are an infection of fly larvae, otherwise known as maggots, located inside human tissue.
The parasite has been known to have catastrophic effects on livestock numbers, but can affect all warm-blooded animals.
Maryland‘s Department of Health said that the patient had recovered, and, after an investigation, found no transmission.
“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,” Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for the Health and Human Services department, said.
“The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low.”
Catching NWS
Females lay eggs in wounds, and its hatched larvae then eat their way through flesh, killing their host if the parasite is left untreated.
After the maggots eat, they fall off and go into the ground.
They come out as adult screwworm flies, ready to start the process all over again.
The CDC has detailed the symptoms of the parasite, which include feeling larvae inside of a wound and seeing maggots around lesions.
This summer, the United States unveiled plans to attack screwworms due to their risk to the meat industry.
The idea?
Dumping billions of sterile flies to kill them.
“It is not only a threat to our ranching community — but it is a threat to our food supply and our national security,” the United States Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
Cases are usually located in South America or the Caribbean, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But in May, the US fearfully closed its exports to Mexico for livestock after cases had spread throughout its neighboring country.
After reopening in July, another case was reported in Mexico, the US then closing its border again to livestock.
“The United States has promised to be vigilant — and after detecting this new NWS case, we are pausing the planned port reopening’s to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said.
“We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border.”
The agency now plans on opening a “sterile fly production facility” in Texas due to its proximity to the border.
The new facility is targeted to “produce up to 300 million sterile flies per week to combat NWS.”
Signs of NWS
According to the CDC, signs of the New World screwworm are as follows:
- “Unexplained skin lesions (wounds or sores) that do not heal.
- Skin wounds or sores that worsen over time.
- Painful skin wounds or sores.
- Bleeding from open sores.
- Feeling larvae movement within a skin wound or sore, nose, mouth, or eyes.
- Seeing maggots around or in open sores.
- A foul-smelling odor from the site of the infestation.”
It will then release the bugs into Mexico and Texas in hopes to combat the potentially-deadly maggot.
The US closed its Southern border to livestock in May after an outbreak in Mexico[/caption]
