The U.S. fought the flesh-eating screwworm for decades. Now it must begin again.

Article excerpt

After nearly four decades of absence, the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly larva that burrows into animal flesh and causes severe infections, has returned to the United States. The pest, which the U.S. spent hundreds of millions of dollars and decades eradicating, was declared eliminated in 1966 but has now been detected in Florida, prompting officials to dust off their old playbook. The strategy relies on sterile insect technique: releasing millions of radiation-sterilized male screwworms to breed with wild females, preventing reproduction. Agricultural and health officials are mobilizing a response that echoes the original eradication campaign, though scientists remain uncertain how the fly reestablished itself after such a long absence.