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U.S. Confirms First Travel-Linked Human Screwworm Case in Maryland

Officials characterize the public-health risk as very low, prioritizing livestock protection.

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FILE PHOTO: Larvae of the screwworm fly, collected from infected cows, are observed at the COPEG sterile fly production plant, which fights the spread of the cattle screwworm, in Pacora, Panama, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Enea Lebrun/File Photo

Overview

  • The Department of Health and Human Services said the CDC confirmed New World screwworm on Aug. 4 in a Maryland patient who had recently returned from El Salvador, marking the first travel-associated case identified in the U.S.
  • Industry emails and some state veterinarians cited Guatemala as the travel origin and criticized slow federal communication, and officials declined to reconcile the discrepancy.
  • No animal infections have been confirmed in the United States in 2025, and HHS said the overall risk to the public is very low.
  • Federal actions include sterile-fly operations, import restrictions on Mexican livestock, FDA emergency-use authority for animal drugs, and plans for a sterile-fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Texas, with Mexico also building a $51 million plant.
  • USDA estimates a Texas outbreak could cost about $1.8 billion, a risk drawing heightened attention as the cattle herd is historically small and prices are high.