US confirms nation’s first travel-associated human screwworm case connected to Central American outbreak

https://nypost.com/ ^ | Aug. 25, 2025 | Reuters

[bitt]

The US Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported the first human case in the United States of travel-associated New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, from an outbreak-affected country.

The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was confirmed by the CDC as New World screwworm on August 4, and involved a patient who returned from travel to El Salvador, HHS spokesman Andrew G. Nixon said in an email to Reuters.

Earlier, Reuters reported that beef industry sources said last week that the CDC had confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a person in Maryland who had traveled to the United States from Guatemala.

Nixon did not address the discrepancy on the source of the human case.

“The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low,” he said.

The US government has not confirmed any cases in animals this year.

The differing accounts from the US government and industry sources on the human case are likely to further rattle an industry of cattle ranchers, beef producers and livestock traders already on high alert for potential US infestations as screwworm has moved northward from Central America and southern Mexico.

The government’s confirmation of a screwworm case comes just over a week after US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins traveled to Texas to announce plans to build a sterile fly facility there as part of efforts to combat the pest.

The USDA has estimated a screwworm outbreak could cost the economy in Texas, the biggest US cattle-producing state, about $1.8 billion in livestock deaths, labor costs and medication expenses.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: flesheatingparasite; screwworm

[bitt]

P

[PeterPrinciple]

and involved a patient who returned from travel to El Salvador,

---

hopefully a democrat?

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Screwworm, is that like Meghan Markle or Ghislaine Maxwell?

[Delta 21]

I wonder if off label Ivermectin would kill this thing?

[Openurmind]

Here it comes, anal check station at every border...

[lee martell]

“I Did That!”

[Enterprise]

I thought the human screwworm was Gavin Newsom.

[HereInTheHeartland]

This has been a big deal for cattle producers

[Openurmind]

They are not going to be happy until we quit eating meat...

[blackdog]

Wear shoes. Keep any wound clean and covered.

Anthony Fauci loves little parasites. Hide your pets.

[blackdog]

"They are not going to be happy until we quit eating meat..."

And quit flying around on airlines.

[DannyTN]

I hate screwworms
hookworms
tapeworms
augerworms
hammerworms
drillworms
pipeworms
punchworms
anvilworms
...

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Washington DC has been infected with Human Screwworms forever.

[cuz1961]

Thanks to Joe.

[odawg]

“I wonder if off label Ivermectin would kill this thing?”

According to Grok, yes. One of the strategies. A combination of physical removal, topical application, and injection.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

The screw worm flies were defeated decades ago. Now they are back.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

I would add to that thought:

...and lefty politicians.

[Texas Eagle]

The case, investigated by the Maryland Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

The case, brought in by the Maryland Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,

There. Fixed it.

[catnipman]

it might:

Ivermectin is an effective systemic insecticide for New World Screwworm (NWS) (Cochliomyia hominivorax) infestations in livestock, providing residual protection against larval mortality and preventing infestations. While not approved for medicated feed in the US, it is used for individual animal treatment and as a part of import quarantine protocols. It can be administered orally or injected, with doses of 200 micrograms/kg achieving significant larval mortality and residual effects. However, ivermectin does not prevent other flies from laying eggs or reinfestation, making it part of a broader strategy that includes sterile fly releases and wound care.