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HealthDay News — A Maryland resident has recovered after being identified with New World screwworm — the primary reported U.S. case in years that’s tied to journey in a rustic with an outbreak.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the case on Aug. 4, after the particular person returned from El Salvador. State well being officers stated there was no unfold to different folks or animals.
New World screwworm is brought on by a kind of blowfly that lays its eggs in open wounds or physique openings. The larvae, which may develop as much as two-thirds of an inch lengthy, feed on residing tissue as they burrow deeper.
“It’s a nasty parasite,” Max Scott, a researcher at North Carolina State University in Raleigh who has studied screwworm for years, instructed The Associated Press.
While human circumstances are unusual, screwworm infestations are a rising concern for ranchers as cattle circumstances have been spreading north by Central America and Mexico, The AP stated.
The parasite was as soon as a significant downside for the U.S. cattle trade, particularly in Florida and Texas, till the Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, when federal applications efficiently eradicated it.
This seems to be the primary U.S. case in fairly some time, Scott famous.
The total threat to the general public is low, in line with the CDC. The larvae don’t unfold from individual to individual. People are most in danger in the event that they journey to areas with animal infestations, spend time round livestock, sleep open air or have open wounds.
Symptoms might embody:
- Painful wounds or sores that don’t heal
- Maggots seen within the affected space
- Foul-smelling odors from the wound website
Treatment sometimes entails eradicating the larvae, typically surgically. The CDC advises in opposition to trying to take away or eliminate the maggots with out medical supervision.
The CDC and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are working collectively to watch potential unfold and forestall future outbreaks. Scientists are additionally growing new genetic methods to manage the pest.
If the parasite re-enters the nation, consultants say the Texas-Mexico border area would probably be the primary space affected.
More data
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has extra on New World screwworm.
SOURCE: The Associated Press, Aug. 25, 2025
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