A case of New World screwworm has been detected in U.S. wildlife for the first time.
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case → detect → time
The flesh-eating parasitic fly was found in elk on a game ranch in Pecos County, Texas, after being harvested by a hunter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday.
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Department → eat → Agriculture
The state’s parks department is conducting additional wildlife surveillance in the area and a previously-established “infested zone” will be updated following the detection, the department said.
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department → conduct → detection
“This detection highlights the critical role hunters, landowners, outdoor enthusiasts and wildlife professionals play in helping detect and stop the spread of NWS,” the department noted.
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department → highlight → NWS
“Early reporting is one of the most important tools we have to protect wildlife, livestock and pets in the United States.”
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we → have → States
The detection comes as another new case was reported in a New Mexico cow in Otero County.
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case → come → County
Earlier this month, two cases were reported in a calf and a horse in the state’s Grant County, five hours West of Otero.
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cases → report → Otero
In June, Texas also confirmed cases in calves, a goat and a dog in multiple counties.
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Texas → confirm → counties
The screwworms are often attracted to cattle after procedures such as dehorning, causing fatal infestations and costing millions in livestock losses, economic damage and eradication efforts.
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screwworms → attract → losses
Related livestock losses in Mexico reached an estimated $2.8 billion since 2024, according to Bloomberg Law.
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losses → reach → Law
To stop the spread, the U.S. closed the southern border ports to livestock imports last year - sending beef prices soaring to a record near $7 per pound in August, according to Bloomberg Tax - and has since reopened the ports in phases.
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U.S. → stop → phases
“Every animal entering the United States through these ports will undergo a full USDA inspection to ensure it is free of any signs of New World screwworm,” the Department of Agriculture said in July.
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Department → enter → July
While the orange-eyed New World Screwworm was eradicated from the U.S. decades ago, the pest has moved northward from South and Central America through Mexico since 2023.
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pest → eradicate → 2023
Measures have been in place to combat the spread of the metallic-bodied maggots in Mexico - releasing sterile flies into areas where known populations were established - but the screwworm suddenly overtook the other insects.
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screwworm → combat → insects
It’s still not known exactly how this happened, but the American Society for Microbiology suggests interruptions in sterile fly production during the Covid-19 pandemic could have played a role.
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interruptions → know → role
Unfortunately, the New World Screwworm can infect any living mammal, including humans.
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Screwworm → infect → humans
The female parasite uses mouth hooks to burrow into the flesh, causing severe wounds and complications that can lead to death.
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that → use → death
There the small fly can lay up to 300 eggs at a time.
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fly → lay → time
The eggs hatch into larvae that burrow into the wound to feed on the living flesh.
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that → hatch → flesh
After a week of feeding, they drop to the ground, burrow into the soil, become a pupa, and emerge.
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they → drop → soil
Secondary infections may occur in already-infected wounds.
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infections → occur → wounds
Symptoms can include feeling or seeing maggots move in a skin wound or sore, worsening skin wounds, a foul-smelling odor from wounds and bleeding from open sores.
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maggots → include → sores
Bacterial infections may also occur in wounds where the maggots are present, leading to symptoms like fever or chills, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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maggots → occur → Control
Some people are at greater risk of infection, including hunters, pet owners, people who work with livestock and people who have open wounds that can attract the flies.
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that → include → flies
The best way to prevent infection is to avoid exposure - including sleeping outside - and be alert for symptoms in people with a history of recent travel to endemic regions.
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way → prevent → regions
The only way to treat an infection is to remove the larvae from the impacted tissue.
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way → treat → tissue
People should contact their healthcare providers immediately if they believe they may have been infected and not try to remove any maggots or egg masses by themselves.
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they → contact → themselves
“If maggots or eggs fall out of the wound, place them in a leak-proof container with rubbing alcohol to kill them.
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maggots → fall → them
Bring them with you to your healthcare provider,” the CDC instructs.
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CDC → bring → provider
The Aporia
