The first travel-related human case of a flesh-eating parasite was detected in the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed on Sunday. A Maryland resident contracted the New World screwworm after returning home from El Salvador,

"The risk to public health in the United States from this introduction is very low," said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon.

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