# A case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite has been detected in a person in the United States for the first time. It was identified in a person from Maryland who had travelled from Guatemala. The flies eat cattle and other warm-blooded animals alive and an outbreak was recorded in Central America and southern Mexico last year. The female screwworm fly lays eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals and once hatched, hundreds of larvae burrow through living flesh. Treatment involves removing larvae and disinfecting wounds.
Deadly flesh-eating parasite found in person in US for first time