First U.S. case of human infection with flesh-eating screwworm confirmed
The United States has confirmed its first human case of infection caused by the larvae of the parasitic New World screwworm (NWS), Kazinform News Agency reports.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has confirmed the first travel-associated human case of New World screwworm in more than 50 years. The patient, a Maryland resident who had recently returned from El Salvador, was diagnosed on August 4. The individual has since made a full recovery, and no additional cases or transmission have been detected.
NWS myiasis is caused by fly larvae that feed on the living tissues of humans and animals. Livestock are most frequently affected, though in rare cases the parasite can also infect people.
“New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is a devastating pest. When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to it. NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and in rare cases, people,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA) notes.
The parasite is traditionally found in South America and the Caribbean. In recent months, however, outbreaks have been recorded across all Central American countries, including Mexico.
The name “screwworm” comes from the larvae’s feeding behavior: they twist into a wound, tearing at tissue with sharp mouth hooks while consuming live flesh, causing the lesion to deepen and expand.
Adult flies are slightly larger than common houseflies, with orange eyes, a metallic blue-green body, and three dark stripes along the back.
According to the HHS, the risk to public health remains very low. Federal officials also confirmed that no animal infections have been detected in the country this year.
The USDA estimates that a potential outbreak among livestock could result in economic losses exceeding $100 billion, as the threat directly affects the nation’s cattle and dairy industry.
Earlier, it was reported that an American scientist made a breakthrough in studying axolotls, Mexican salamanders famous for their ability to regenerate limbs and organs.