Don’t Warn Anyone, But Carnivorous Maggots Have Entered the US

A case of New World screwworm has been confirmed in South Texas, the US Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday night. He is the first to note the violation of the US-Mexico border and carnivorous flieswho is they have been making their way through Central America for the past few years.

In news on social media Wednesday afternoonThe USDA revealed that a sample from Texas was sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, to be tested for screwworm. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins later wrote this tests confirmed that he was infectedwhich was found in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas.

Chatter about the discovery of screwworm had already started this week, disrupting the US cattle industry.

Although many animals, including humans, can be infected with this parasite, screwworm is especially dangerous for pets. Female maggots lay hundreds of eggs in the wounds and veins of warm-blooded creatures, allowing their larvae to feed on live prey, causing deep, wrinkled, life-threatening wounds. Although the screwworm was common in the US, it was eradicated amid a multi-year effort in the 1960s. The USDA estimates that keeping screwworms outside the US has been it saved the pet trade $900 million every year.

But the fly has lost control in Central America and has been getting very close. On May 28, a case was found 25 miles from the border with a five-year-old goat in Coahuila, Mexico, according to the USDA. The case is one of many that have been discovered in recent days, including the case of a calf 39 kilometers from the border, also in Coahuila.

Controversial Investigations

In a press call Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, “We have no doubt that this is a serious threat to our livestock.” But he also denied claims that the fly is near or already in the US.

On Monday, prosecutor Don McLaughlin said on TV that the screwworm case was found to be correct one mile from the Texas borderwho Rollins is The USDA refused.

“When false information comes out, it creates panic,” Rollins said Tuesday, according to the Texas Tribune. “And rightfully so, especially if it’s coming from elected officials and the media.”

Wednesday, Reuters reports that McLaughlin thinks the fly was here. He said samples taken Tuesday from two calves at a farm in La Pryor, Texas — located in Zavala County, where the screwworm infection was confirmed — are being tested for screwworm. It is said that some of the diseases were in the stomach wound of the calves. McLaughlin said he had seen pictures and videos of the animals and that the larvae seen inside looked like screwworm larvae.

Reuters was shown one of the images, which it said showed “several maggot-like larvae inside a circular blood wound on the animal” but said it “could not confirm the image.”

“Right now, it’s not confirmed that it’s a New World screwworm,” McLaughlin told the site on Wednesday. “It looks like it, but it’s not confirmed.”

Those findings have now been confirmed, the USDA said press release Wednesday night that it is establishing a “Unified Incident Command Team” with the Texas Animal Health Commission and sending personnel to the area. It is also establishing a 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) zone around the outbreak for quarantine, travel restrictions, and monitoring and trapping.

The return of the Screwworm

Screwworms were eradicated in the US in the 1960s amid efforts to kill off their population. This is done by aerial bombardment of sterile male flies, which is a very effective weapon against the parasite. The abundance of dud studs causes thin males to come out, which prevents mating with females, which are usually only mated once.

With this method, called the Sterile Insect Technique, the flies were eliminated not only in the US but also in all of Central America. He was declared extradited from Panama in 2006.