‘Flesh-eating maggots’ could sound like one thing from a horror film, however they’ve simply made a surprising comeback in the USA for the primary time in almost 60 years.
Well being officers in Maryland, alongside the US Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), confirmed {that a} traveller had been contaminated with the New World screwworm after coming back from Central America.
Confusion stays over whether or not the person had travelled to El Salvador or Guatemala, however one factor is obvious: the parasite is again on American soil.
Panic has unfold nearly as quick because the information itself, leaving many to ask the identical chilling query: is that this grotesque maggot infestation contagious?
Is the Flesh-Consuming Screwworm Contagious?
The brief reply isn’t any.
Not like flu or COVID-19, screwworm infestations can’t move immediately from individual to individual and even from animal to animal.
Specialists from the Heart for Meals Safety and Public Well being clarify that the parasite spreads solely when feminine flies lay eggs on open wounds or pure physique openings.
In different phrases, it’s all the time the fly that carries the hazard. A sore or reduce attracts the insect, which deposits tons of of eggs.
These hatch into larvae that feed on residing tissue, creating the phantasm of contagion when a number of hosts in the identical space are affected.
How the Flesh-Consuming Parasite Invades the Physique
In line with the CDC, a single feminine screwworm fly can lay as much as 3,000 eggs throughout her brief life. Even the smallest scratch, insect chunk, or a new child’s umbilical wound might be sufficient to draw the parasite.
Inside hours, the larvae burrow into the flesh and start consuming residing tissue—not like atypical maggots, which feed solely on lifeless matter.
Left untreated, the wound enlarges as extra flies are drawn in. In livestock, infestations may cause excessive struggling and even loss of life. In people, they’re uncommon however probably life-threatening if not handled shortly.
Signs of Flesh-Consuming Maggots to Watch Out For
The CDC warns of a number of tell-tale indicators of screwworm infestation:
- Painful or enlarging wounds that fail to heal
- Bleeding or foul-smelling sores
- Seen maggots in open wounds
- A sensation of motion underneath the pores and skin or inside nasal, oral, or eye cavities
Whereas terrifying, most infestations might be handled efficiently if caught early.
Therapy: The Gruelling Technique of Removing
Therapy is disagreeable however efficient. Each larva have to be eliminated manually, the wound disinfected, and the affected person carefully monitored for reinfestation. No single medicine can eradicate screwworm as soon as it takes maintain.
On a wider scale, the US Division of Agriculture depends on the sterile fly programme. By releasing sterilised male flies, they disrupt the breeding cycle and suppress outbreaks.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins lately introduced plans for a brand new sterile fly facility in Texas—a transfer that now appears alarmingly well-timed.
A Billion-Greenback Menace to America’s Cattle Trade
The screwworm just isn’t solely a medical menace—additionally it is an agricultural catastrophe. The USDA estimates that an outbreak in Texas alone may price $1.8 billion in cattle losses, veterinary bills, and labour.
With America’s beef business already underneath stress, affirmation of a human case has rattled ranchers and shoppers alike.
Ought to People Be Nervous About Screwworm?
‘The chance to public well being in the USA from this introduction could be very low,’ Maryland well being spokesperson Andrew Nixon instructed Reuters.
Specialists stress that the parasite doesn’t unfold casually between individuals. Prevention depends on correct wound care, sanitation, and avoiding fly publicity in endemic areas.
Nonetheless, its reappearance after almost 60 years is a sobering reminder: globalisation and local weather shifts are making it more durable than ever to maintain outdated enemies at bay.
Initially printed on IBTimes UK
