Flesh-eating New World Screwworm could pose health risks to cattle, humans

A menace to American livestock – the New World Screwworm (NWS) fly, which has been considered eradicated from the state since 1966 — has reemerged arsenic a imaginable information pursuing an outbreak successful Mexico.

The quality triggered a shutdown of cattle, equine and bison imports along the confederate border, arsenic U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins announced successful an X station connected Sunday.

"Due to the menace of New World Screwworm I americium announcing the suspension of unrecorded cattle, horse, & bison imports done U.S. confederate borderline ports of introduction effectual immediately," she wrote successful the post. 

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"The past clip this devastating pest invaded America, it took 30 years for our cattle manufacture to recover. This cannot hap again."

What is the New World Screwworm?

The NWS is simply a alert that is endemic successful Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and immoderate South American countries, according to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World Screwworm fly, oregon Screwworm for short, is simply a taxon of parasitic alert that is known for the mode its larvae (maggots) devour animals' surviving tissue. (iStock)

While the flies themselves are recovered successful forests and different wooded areas, they volition question hosts similar cattle oregon horses successful pastures and fields, per the supra source.

A pistillate alert lays eggs successful a coiled oregon orifice of a live, warm-blooded animal. The eggs past hatch into larvae (maggots) that burrow into the flesh, causing perchance deadly damage.

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Screwworms are named for their maggots’ behavior, arsenic they burrow into the soma akin to however a screw is driven into wood.

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"Maggots origin extended harm by tearing astatine the hosts’ insubstantial with crisp rima hooks," according to the APHIS website. This tin past enlarge the coiled and pull much flies to laic eggs.

A pistillate alert lays eggs successful a coiled oregon orifice of a live, warm-blooded animal, per the supra source. The eggs past hatch into larvae (maggots) that burrow into the flesh, causing perchance deadly damage. (Alamy)

In uncommon cases, the larvae tin provender connected people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.

These infestations tin beryllium precise achy and tin origin serious, perchance fatal harm to their hosts by causing myiasis, a parasitic corruption of alert larvae successful quality tissue. 

Risk factors and prevention

Screwworms are often recovered successful South America and the Caribbean.

"People who question to these areas, walk clip among livestock animals, slumber outdoors and person an unfastened coiled are astatine greater hazard of becoming infested with NWS," says the CDC.

"Wounds arsenic tiny arsenic a tick wound whitethorn pull a pistillate to feed."

People who are immunocompromised, precise young oregon precise old, oregon malnourished are besides astatine a higher hazard of infection, the supra root stated.

Those who person had caller country are besides astatine a higher risk, "as the flies volition laic eggs connected unfastened sores," according to the CDC.

Potential impact

If different outbreak were to hap successful the U.S., "pets, livestock, wildlife and adjacent humans whitethorn endure and dice from screwworm myiasis," the USDA warned.

The USDA estimates that livestock producers successful the southwestern U.S. mislaid betwixt $50 cardinal and $100 cardinal annually owed to NWS successful the 1950s and 1960s until it was successfully eradicated. (iStock)

The USDA estimates that livestock producers successful the southwestern U.S. mislaid betwixt $50 cardinal and $100 cardinal annually owed to NWS successful the 1950s and 1960s until it was successfully eradicated.

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"Presumably, these higher losses successful the Southwest were owed to higher livestock populations, larger geographic country and/or greater imaginable for NWS to overwinter," stated the report.

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While the USDA eradicated NWS successful 1966, determination was an outbreak contained wrong the Florida Keys successful 2016. It affected lone successful the endangered cervid colonisation and was eradicated by March 2017, per APHIS.

Greg Wehner contributed reporting.