As Texas ramps up efforts to stop the spread of a flesh-eating parasite, health officials confirmed Monday the first U.S. case of the New World screwworm (NWS) in a human. The case involved a patient returning from travel in El Salvador,

The CDC confirmation came about a week and a half before the U.S. agriculture secretary said Texas would host a sterile fly facility to slow the screwworm spread.

New World screwworm is a fly that lays its eggs in open wounds and body openings. The parasite is typically found in South America and the Caribbean. It is rare in humans but has