United States of America

First Human Screwworm Case in US Since 1982 Confirmed in Maryland

Published AUG 26 2025

Story

Above: The Union Ganadera Chihuahua cattle import facility in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, in June, 2025. Image credit: Paul Ratje/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the first human case of New World screwworm in the U.S., involving a Maryland resident who recently traveled to El Salvador and was diagnosed on Aug. 4.
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New World screwworm is a parasitic fly whose females lay eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals, hatching into hundreds of larvae that burrow through living flesh for about a week before dropping to form pupae.
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The Hill
The parasite has been spreading northward from Central America since 2023, with Mexico reporting a case 370 miles south of the U.S. border in July, prompting the USDA to halt livestock imports from Mexico in November and May.
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NBC
Treatment involves manually removing hundreds of larvae from wounds and disinfecting the affected areas. It often requires antibiotics for secondary infections and pain management, though recovery is possible if treated early.
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The USDA estimates a screwworm outbreak could cost Texas approximately $1.8 billion in livestock deaths, labor costs, and medication expenses, threatening the state's cattle industry, worth billions of dollars and employing 2 million people.
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Breitbart
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans to build a sterile fly production facility in Texas that would release sterilized male flies to mate with wild females, using the same technique that eradicated screwworm from the U.S. in the 1960s.
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Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

The government's response shows they're taking this threat seriously with concrete action. Building a sterile fly facility in Texas demonstrates commitment to preventing an outbreak that could devastate the cattle industry and the risk remains very low to public health.

ABC News

NBC

Establishment-critical narrative

Officials weren't transparent about this case, leaving state veterinarians to find out through other channels rather than proper notification. The two-to-three-year timeline for the proposed facility seems too slow given the parasite's northward movement.

New York Post

Daily Wire