A person in Maryland has been confirmed to have an infection with the flesh-eating New World screwworm parasite — the first human case of the infection in the United States since the parasite was eradicated in the country over 60 years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The Maryland patient had returned to the U.S. after traveling to El Salvador, HHS spokesperson Andrew G. Nixon told Reuters in an email, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the infection with the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) via images of the larvae on Aug. 4, according to Axios.
