As the summer season begins to wind down and Americans turn their attention to fall, keeping themselves safe from mosquitos and other kinds of bugs and insects will become more prominent.
Many Americans use spray-on bug repellent like OFF, or they’ll sit under a lantern or light that repels the creatures itself.
Bug bites can be extremely annoying after enjoying a nice summer evening, but in some cases they can be deadly or life-threatening. A person in one state has been affected by one of those animals, as they’ve become the first human case of what’s been described as a “horrific” parasite.
What Kind of Parasite Was Detected?
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed to Reuters that a person in Maryland has been infested with the New World screwworm. The parasite has posed a threat to the American cattle population for the first time in half a century, and it now appears to be affecting humans.
HHS spokesperson Andrew G. Nixon noted that the parasite was detected in a person who recently traveled to El Salvador. The individual in question has been investigated by both the Maryland Department of Health and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
“This is the first human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis (parasitic infestation of fly larvae) from an outbreak-affected country identified in the United States,” Nixon said in a statement shared with Axios.
He also told Reuters that “the risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low.”
The New World screwworm is a type of fly that has migrated north from South America in recent years. The female fly will lay eggs on “warm-bodied animals,” but it only poses a “rare” risk to humans in this regard. The eggs are more likely to be found within cattle than within humans.
“The larva does exactly what the name would suggest,” said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Woodall told NPR that the parasite “screws or bores into the flesh of our cattle and, in essence, eats the animal from the inside out.”
“It is a horrific parasite,” he added.
What’s Being Done to Protect Americans?
The CDC adds that infestation by this parasite can be “very painful.” Maggots are common around the site of infection, and the flies typically lay eggs near exposed wounds. Noses, eyes and mouths can also be affected, and the parasite must be “removed” by a medical professional.
Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins noted that the country would invest into sterile male screwworms, which they intend to release into the wild.
Since female screwworms only mate once in their lifespan, the thought is that this decision will reduce the population – and the risk posed to both humans and livestock. The strategy was utilized in the 1960s – the last time screwworms posed this level of public threat.
