Travel Alert: Kansas Warns Of Flesh-eating Maggots From New World Screwworm

Published on September 8, 2025

Kansas wellness officials are sounding nan siren astir nan March of New World screwworm (NWS) maggots, nan pests that tin infest pets, livestock, and moreover people. This parasite vanished from nan United States, but caller outbreaks successful Central America and Mexico are sending wellness experts scrambling to protect us. If you person an unfastened coiled whether from a cut, scrape, aliases bug wound salary other attention. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has told doctors and clinics to enactment sharp, and they want to spot immoderate suspicious cases reported connected nan double.

New World Screwworm Overview

New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is simply a type of alert known for its larvae, aliases maggots, which burrow into nan soma of surviving animals and humans. The female alert lays her eggs connected an unfastened coiled aliases different bodily openings. These larvae past hatch and statesman feeding connected surviving tissue, causing terrible harm that tin lead to infection and, if near untreated, death. Although it is chiefly a interest for livestock, pets, and different animals, quality cases person been reported.

Travel-Related Risk for Humans

Kansas wellness officials are peculiarly concerned astir travelers visiting endemic regions, including parts of Mexico and Central America, wherever an outbreak is presently underway. Travelers who person unfastened wounds whether from insect bites, cuts, scratches, aliases surgeries are much susceptible to infection.

Travelers returning from these areas should beryllium particularly mindful if they create immoderate unexplained aliases worsening wounds aft their trip. A lawsuit of NWS myiasis was precocious reported successful Maryland, linked to a personification returning from El Salvador, emphasizing nan value of awareness.

Safety Tips for Travelers

Travelers heading to areas wherever New World screwworm is prevalent should return nan pursuing precautions:

• Cover Open Wounds: Always screen immoderate cuts, scratches, aliases insect bites pinch clean, sterile bandages to forestall vulnerability to flies.
• Avoid Contact pinch Livestock: Limit interactions pinch animals successful these regions, particularly livestock, arsenic they are much apt to big nan maggots.
• Sleep Indoors: Sleeping extracurricular aliases adjacent animal areas tin summation nan consequence of exposure, truthful opt for indoor accommodations erstwhile possible.
• Seek Medical Attention: If you create immoderate suspicious aliases worsening wounds while abroad, activity aesculapian attraction immediately.

Kansas wellness officials besides punctual travelers to study immoderate symptoms to their healthcare provider, particularly if they’ve precocious visited outbreak areas.

Local Safety Tips for Kansas Residents

While nan threat to Kansas remains chiefly linked to travel-associated cases, nan state’s wellness officials are taking proactive measures to guarantee that nan illness does not spread. The KDHE has advised locals to enactment informed and watch for signs of NWS successful some humans and animals.

• Watch for Symptoms: Kansas residents should beryllium alert of imaginable NWS symptoms, specified arsenic nan beingness of maggots successful wounds, sores that don’t heal, aliases foul-smelling discharge from an unfastened wound.
• Report Suspected Cases: Any suspected lawsuit of NWS successful humans should beryllium reported to nan KDHE’s epidemiology hotline. Similarly, if animals show signs of infection, nan Kansas Department of Agriculture should beryllium notified.
• Proper Disposal of Maggots: If maggots are found, they should not beryllium thrown successful nan trash. Improper disposal could lead to nan creation of caller alert populations, which could dispersed nan infection to some animals and humans.

Treatment and Prevention

Infected individuals require contiguous aesculapian curen to region nan larvae. In astir cases, this involves surgically extracting nan maggots. Delayed curen tin consequence successful terrible insubstantial damage, secondary bacterial infections, and moreover systemic illness.

The KDHE’s alert emphasizes that wellness professionals must beryllium prepared for speedy recognition and intervention. The authorities is besides moving intimately pinch nan U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support surveillance and consequence strategies successful lawsuit of outbreaks successful section animals.

What You Should Know

While New World screwworm is simply a terrible interest for some humans and animals, nan U.S. has made important strides successful eradicating nan pest. The illness was erstwhile eliminated utilizing a method called sterile insect technique, which progressive releasing sterile antheral flies to trim nan population. Despite nan occurrence of this approach, a caller breakdown of nan biologic obstruction successful Central America has allowed nan screwworm to resurface successful these regions.

Kansas officials stay alert to nan imaginable consequence of travel-associated cases and impulse healthcare providers to enactment informed and study immoderate different infestations promptly. The nationalist is encouraged to travel each recommended information guidelines, whether walking overseas aliases astatine home.

Overview

New World screw-worm continues to airs a large wellness consequence successful Central America and Mexico. Visitors to these areas should support their eyes unfastened for signs of nan disease. People successful Kansas, who mightiness deliberation they’re acold from nan source, besides request to enactment informed and travel nan proposal from wellness officials to support nan illness from spreading here. Quick action getting an infection diagnosed and treated correct away—is nan champion measurement to protect wellness and lives. If everyone reports suspected cases and follows prevention steps, we tin extremity nan infection from moving to caller areas.