The Ministry of Health and Wellness also held an impromptu press conference via Zoom to address the first confirmed human case. Vector Control Chief of Operations Kim Bautista explained that the treatment is a combination of medication, but it only tackles the infection. The larvae have to be manually removed from the wound. Here's what he told us.
Kim Bautista, Vector Control Chief of Operations, MOHW
"A check earlier today revealed that the patient is responding very well to treatment and he should be released either later today or tomorrow morning and we will be monitoring as a ministry the progress in terms of his recovery from New World Screwworm."
"The treatment of New World Screwworm, it's dependent in terms of the severity of the infestation but primarily, the treatment tends to be Ivermectin and antibiotics, there are various antibiotics that may be used in combination, not to control the larvae but to prevent what we would refer to as secondary infections as a consequence of the wound, the tissues that is being damaged with each passing hour that the larvae are actually eating the flesh. So that combination treatment of Ivermectin and antibiotics is what is standardized throughout the region."
"It's similar to the management in animals where there is a debridement of the wound, removing dead tissue and larvae and so that first removal of larvae can be done under local anesthesia and then once the treatment of Ivermectin is administered, it basically immobilizes the larvae and eventually starts killing them and you would then be in a position to then remove the other larvae that have been developing in the wound. so once the treatment is administered, you will not have the ongoing development of new larvae in the wound and of course as I mentioned, the role of the antibiotic is just to prevent any serious infection because that image that is floating around that shouldn't have been in the media in the first place, that is a very minor wound compared to if you would look at images online of new world screwworm cases in humans which could be quite graphic."
According to a press release from MOHW, the majority of the new world screwworm cases have been found in dogs, so they are urging the public to monitor their pets, especially if they have any open wounds.
As you saw on Thursday's news - the screw-worm has also been detected in wildlife.
