UPDATE: USDA OFFICIAL SAYS HUMAN SCREWWORM CASE DOES NOT THREATEN AGRICULTURE (PHOTO).

 USDA official says human screwworm case does not threaten agriculture

The recent human case of screwworm in the U.S., confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), poses no threat to American agriculture, a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) official said Tuesday. The case, the only one reported in the country this year, involved a person who traveled from El Salvador to Maryland. The individual has fully recovered, and there is no evidence of the parasite spreading to other people or animals, Maryland state health authorities said.

Screwworm is a parasitic insect that feeds on living tissue and can be fatal to livestock if left untreated, with potential outbreaks in cattle-producing states like Texas estimated to cost the economy nearly $2 billion. USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden said the agency had only recently learned of the human case and emphasized that it does not threaten U.S. agriculture. In response, the USDA has begun targeted surveillance in a 20-mile radius around parts of Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia, which so far has not detected the pest. The department is also investing $750 million in a Texas facility to produce sterile flies to combat the screwworm population, with the plant expected to open in roughly 18 months. Meanwhile, USDA officials are working closely with Mexican authorities to prevent the northward spread of the parasite and will send a verification team to Mexico in the coming weeks.