"This is the first human case of travel-associated New World screwworm myiasis (parasitic infestation of fly larvae) from an outbreak-affected country identified in the United States," a spokesperson for the U.S. Health and Human Services told Chron.

A rare case of travel-related New World screwworm was identified in Maryland in a patient who traveled from El Salvador, a spokesman from the US Department of Health and Human Services said.

The parasite — the larvae of the new world screwworm fly — can devastate cattle herds and is rife in parts of Central America.