Screwworm Fly: US Threat & Prevention
Screwworm Fly: US Threat & Prevention
34883News Directory 3, 2025-06-02 18:43:27.
A resurgence of the New World screwworm, a parasite known for consuming living flesh, is raising alarms in the U.S.cattle industry. For seven decades, the United States has waged an aerial war against this pest, scientifically known as C.hominivorax, which targets livestock and even humans. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) pioneered a strategy in the 1950s involving the mass production, sterilization via radiation, and aerial release of sterile screwworms to disrupt the parasite’s reproduction cycle. This approach successfully created a barrier at the Darién Gap between Panama and Colombia, effectively shielding North America. However, in 2022, this barrier was breached. Panama saw a surge in screwworm cases, and by 2024, the parasite was rapidly advancing northward. It has now reached Oaxaca and Veracruz in Mexico, prompting the U.S. to suspend live-cattle imports from Mexico. Wayne Cockrell,a Texas rancher and chair of the cattle-health committee for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, expressed concern about the potential return of the screwworm to Texas. He believes the current sterile-fly programme lacks the capacity to contain the outbreak.
