Cases to rise by 53% in Mexico

The number of animals infected with the new world of screws (NWS), a parasite that eats flesh increased by 53% in the four weeks to mid -August, reveal Mexican government data.

While infecting the fly larvae mainly affects cattle, Mexican employees have also recorded cases in dogs, horses, sheep – and humans.

According to local media, dozens of people have been treated for hospitals in the southern Mexican states of Campeche and Chiapas.

Increasing the affected animals in Mexico comes just days after US health authorities said they have confirmed the first case of human case in a patient who has returned to the United States by El Salvador.

NWS was declared uprooted in the United States in 1966 after sterile male flies were released to disrupt the reproductive cycle of insects, and Mexico followed a suit in 1991.

However, it remains common in tropical and subtropical regions of Central and South America and has recently spread north with the first new case reported in Mexico in November 2024.

Women’s New World Winter Worm (Cochliomyia Hominivorax) lays its eggs in or near open wounds on the skin of warm -blooded animals. They are also attracted to the mucous membranes, such as those in the nose, mouth, eyelids, ears and genitals.

The eggs are hatched in larvae, which are stuck in the wound or membrane, feeding on living flesh.

The infection is called miase and, if left untreated, can cause serious damage – and can even be fatal – as the larvae are torn in the tissue with sharp mouth hooks.

Health officials warn that while fatal cases in humans are rare, people with existing health problems and the elderly need to take extra care.

Mexico’s Health Ministry said an 86-year-old woman died in Campeche in July by skin cancer, which was exacerbated by the contagion of the larvae of the screw.

Those who are most at risk are people working with livestock or those who live in rural areas where livestock is present.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are calling on people who may have visited a region where the flies of screws are available to be alert to the symptoms. These include unexplained skin lesions, the sensation of the larvae move in a wound or nose, mouth or eyes and see the larvae in open inflammation.

Experts point out that prevention is crucial when visiting rural areas in the affected regions, which involves maintaining any open wounds clean and covered and using insect repellent.

They also ask people who suspect they may have been infected to seek medical attention.