Experts Are Sharing How To Keep Your Family Safe After A Human Case Of This Flesh-Eating Parasite Was Reported

A quality lawsuit of a flesh-eating parasite, called New World screwworm, was reported successful the US this month, the US Department of Health and Human Services said connected Sunday.

The lawsuit progressive a diligent who returned to Maryland aft traveling to El Salvador, HHS told Reuters. The CDC confirmed the diagnosis connected August 4, the work reported. It’s the archetypal US lawsuit linked to question from a state with a existent outbreak. Maryland wellness officials told the Associated Press that the diligent has recovered and that nary transmissions to different radical oregon animals were found. 

A New World screwworm infestation occurs erstwhile a NWS alert larva infests the surviving soma of a warm-blooded animal, according to the CDC, which adds that pistillate screwworm flies “lay their eggs connected and successful unfastened wounds and mucous membranes,” and they tin laic 200 to 300 eggs astatine a time. 

The bureau adds that the fly’s larva causes “extensive damage” by burrowing into its host’s insubstantial with “sharp rima hooks.”

“The coiled tin go larger and deeper arsenic much larvae hatch and provender connected surviving tissue,” the CDC states. “As a result, NWS tin origin superior harm to the carnal oregon idiosyncratic it infests. Bacterial superinfection tin besides hap due to the fact that of the NWS infestation.”

Livestock are astir commonly affected, and infestations successful humans, which the CDC describes arsenic “very painful,” are rare. Countries successful Central America and Mexico person reported caller cases of infestations successful animals and humans, the bureau states.

Overall, HHS spokesperson Andrew G. Nixon told Reuters that “the hazard to nationalist wellness successful the United States from this instauration is precise low.” 

The US mostly eradicated screwworm populations implicit 50 years agone by utilizing the method of breeding and dispersing sterile antheral screwworms to mate with pistillate flies. US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced earlier this month that the section volition conception a sterile alert installation successful Edinburg, Texas, to proceed its efforts to eradicate the pest.

So, however acrophobic should we beryllium astir quality cases of screwworm infestations? 

Laurel Bristow, an infectious illness researcher astatine Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, told HuffPost that she doesn’t deliberation the infestation lawsuit from the diligent who returned from El Salvador “should springiness radical a batch of interest astir determination being much cases successful the United States close now.” 

“We don’t presently person the alert successful the United States,” she said, earlier pointing retired that wellness officials are successful interaction with the idiosyncratic successful Maryland, who volition person treatment. 

“You conscionable don’t privation the flies to determination done the larval signifier successful which they deposit themselves into ungraded successful the United States, and past commencement to turn here,” she said. “So I deliberation with this lawsuit it’s not peculiarly concerning that it volition sprout much cases of the flies oregon of infestation.” 

And adjacent still, Bristow, a subject communications influencer who hosts the vigor amusement “Health Wanted,” emphasized that the “predominant, big interest is with livestock and with chaotic animals.”

Dr. Sheldon Campbell, an infectious diseases specializer and prof astatine Yale School of Medicine, told HuffPost that erstwhile it comes to concerns astir much quality cases of screwworm infestations, “there should beryllium nary dispersed successful the US pursuing this lawsuit report.”

“The maggots would person to implicit their beingness rhythm successful the patient, driblet off, and mature into flies, find mates, and yet laic eggs successful animals oregon people,” helium said. “Though I didn’t spot the details successful the lawsuit report, this is beauteous improbable successful a quality patient.”

What are immoderate bully precautions to instrumentality erstwhile traveling to an country with a screwworm outbreak? 

Dr. Amesh Adalja, a elder student astatine the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told HuffPost that 1 should “cover immoderate unfastened wounds, debar sleeping outdoors, and usage insect repellents.”

“The hazard is chiefly successful areas successful which the alert is contiguous (close proximity to livestock), truthful agrarian areas are wherever [the] alert is much prevalent,” helium said. 

Campbell said that “prevention is key.” 

“Keep unfastened wounds cleanable and covered. Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and pants, and socks to bounds areas wherever you could get bitten,” helium said. “Use an EPA-registered insect repellent.”

“Treat covering and cogwheel with products containing 0.5% permethrin,” helium continued, earlier recommending that you “sleep indoors oregon successful rooms with screens.”

Bristow said that overall, quality cases of screwworm infestations are “still exceedingly rare,” truthful astatine this constituent she believes it’s capable to instrumentality the aforesaid precautions you would for preventing mosquito-borne diseases. 

And Bristow emphasized, again, that “the existent concern” with New World screwworm coming to the US would beryllium however it would interaction livestock — “particularly the beef industry,” she said. 

As for what signs of a screwworm infestation whitethorn look similar successful humans, Bristow said: “If you person a coiled that is opening to amusement signs of maggots, oregon getting bigger oregon not healing, that would beryllium a bully denotation to spell to the doctor.” 

The CDC says that the lone mode to dainty New World screwworms is to “physically region the larvae from the infested tissue,” and that wellness attraction providers should region larvae from the site. 

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected HuffPost.