Federal officials confirm case of New World screwworm

By Brett Rowland
The Center Square

Federal officials confirmed a human case of New World screwworm on Tuesday and said the government will be monitoring livestock in response to the threat.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Maryland Department of Health investigated a confirmed case of NWS in a patient who returned from El Salvador on Aug. 4, according to a joint release from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

CDC is the lead response agency for the human case. The agency is conducting an epidemiological assessment in coordination with local health officials.

Out of caution, USDA said it started targeted surveillance for NWS within a 20-mile radius of the affected area, including portions of the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.

No cases of NWS in livestock have been reported since the last outbreak in the Florida Keys in 2017.

“This is not cause for alarm as human risk is low and we have seen several isolated cases in recent years that have not resulted in livestock transmission,” according to federal officials.

New World screwworm is typically found in South America and the Caribbean. The parasites can cause painful infections.

The CDC listed symptoms 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.