A flesh-eating worm from the 1960s is re-invading the U.S. Are CA cattle at risk?
This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Federal agricultural inspectors detected a case of New World screwworm larvae — maggots that burrow into the flesh of living animals and sometimes humans — on a 3-week-old calf in south Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border.Officials anticipated the arrival of screwworm in the United States and say they’re prepared to contain it.
New World screwworm, also known as Cochliomyia hominivorax, is starkly different from the average maggot that feeds on decaying organic matter such as garbage, rotting food or dead animals, said Tom Talbot, veterinarian and member of the California Cattlemen’s Assn.That’s because a screwworm larva “attacks living flesh,” Talbot said.
On Thursday, the U.S.Department of Agriculture confirmed the detection of New World screwworm in the umbilical area of a bovine in Zavala County, Texas, more than 60 miles from the northern Mexico border.
As of Friday morning, there have been no additional cases of infected animals reported.Screwworm is endemic in South America and parts of the Caribbean, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, the parasitic fly has been steadily moving north from Central America to Mexico since 2023.The USDA says it has actively monitored the fly’s movement.
Last month, the USDA was aware of more than 200 active screwworm infestation cases in the border states of Nuevo León and Tamaulipas, according to Mexico’s Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development dashboard.There are currently more than 2,000 active cases throughout Mexico.
It was believed that the New World screwworm would enter the U.S.in 2025, “however, thanks to the hard work across the entire Trump administration and our industry, state, and local partners, we were able to buy time for this moment,” said Dudley Hoskins, undersecretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs for the USDA, in a statement.
The potential econom...