Flesh-eating screwworm found in Texas calf, first U.S. Case in 60 years

Article excerpt

A parasitic fly thought eradicated from America has reappeared. The New World screwworm was confirmed in a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, marking the first U.S. Case since the 1960s, when a massive federal program using sterile insects had wiped it out. The larvae burrow into living tissue and can devastate livestock herds across the country. Officials detected the infestation in the calf's umbilical area and moved swiftly to contain it before the parasite spreads to other ranches. So far only one animal has been affected, but the discovery has triggered alarm among agricultural experts and ranchers already contending with elevated livestock prices. The screwworm remains endemic in Central and South America, raising questions about how the pest re-entered U.S. Territory after decades of absence.