A human case of a flesh-eating screwworm has been confirmed in Maryland, the first in the United States in years, according to U.S. health officials.

The case was confirmed Aug. 4 in a person who had traveled to the United States from El Salvador, said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services.

A recent New World screwworm outbreak in Central America has raised concerns that it could spread to the United States and devastate the cattle industry. But health officials are not concerned about a major outbreak in humans.

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

The New World screwworm is a parasitic blowfly that feeds on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals and, in rare cases, humans – especially on o

See Full Page