The Division of Well being and Human Providers mentioned the case poses a ‘very low’ danger to public well being in the USA.
The primary travel-related human case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been detected in the USA, involving a person in Maryland, the Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) mentioned on Aug. 25.
The individual was found to be contaminated with the New World screwworm parasite after returning to Maryland from El Salvador, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon instructed The Epoch Instances in an emailed assertion.
Nixon mentioned the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention labored with the Maryland Division of Well being to analyze the case and confirmed the an infection on Aug. 4 by means of telediagnosis.
“That is the primary human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis (parasitic infestation of fly larvae) from an outbreak-affected nation recognized in the USA,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Nixon mentioned that the case posed a “very low” danger to public well being in the USA. Details about the affected person’s situation or signs was not instantly out there.
Maryland Well being Division spokesperson David McCallister instructed The Epoch Instances by e-mail that the affected person has recovered from the an infection and that there was no signal of transmission to different individuals or animals.
“At the moment, the danger to public and animal well being in Maryland from this introduction could be very low,” McCallister acknowledged, calling the detection “a well timed reminder for well being care suppliers, livestock homeowners and others to take care of vigilance by means of routine monitoring.”
Screwworms are identified to contaminate livestock, wildlife, and, in uncommon instances, people. Screwworm fly maggots burrow into the pores and skin of dwelling animals and may typically inflict critical or deadly injury.
The CDC acknowledged on its web site that individuals who journey to South America and the Caribbean with an open wound are at greater danger of changing into infested.
Indicators and signs of screwworm infestations embrace irritated conduct, head shaking, a decaying odor, and the presence of maggots, or fly larvae, in wounds, in accordance to the U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA).
“NWS infestations are very painful. When you’ve got an NWS infestation, you may even see maggots (larvae) round or in an open wound. They is also in your nostril, eyes, or mouth,” the CDC acknowledged on its web site.
“Wounds as small as a tick chew might entice a feminine fly to feed and lay her eggs. One feminine can lay 200–300 eggs at a time and should lay as much as 3,000 eggs throughout her 10- to 30-day lifespan.”
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins traveled to Texas on Aug. 15 to unveil the division’s five-pronged plan to forestall the unfold of the New World screwworm from Mexico.
These measures embrace constructing a sterile fly manufacturing facility in Texas, hiring patrol officers generally known as “Tick Riders,” and coaching detector canines to hint screwworm infestations in livestock and different animals on the border, in keeping with the USDA assertion.
“We have now assessed the data on the bottom in Mexico and have decided we should assemble a further sterile fly manufacturing facility in the USA to cease the northward development of this horrible pest that’s threatening American cattle manufacturing,” Rollins mentioned.
U.S. well being officers haven’t detected any new instances of the screwworm in animals in the USA since a small outbreak in Key deer in Florida was eradicated in early 2017, in keeping with the Florida Division of Agriculture and Client Providers.
The USDA acknowledged that inspections of animals and carcasses at slaughterhouses are carried out to make sure the protection of the meals provide.
Screwworm is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and South American nations. In recent times, instances have unfold to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Mexico, in accordance to the USDA.
In Might, the U.S. authorities halted imports of stay cattle, horses, and bison throughout the southern border with Mexico due to the northward unfold of the pest. The USDA acknowledged that the parasite poses dangers to the nation’s ranching neighborhood, meals provide, and nationwide safety.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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