New World Screw Worm Fly Threat Sparks Urgent U.S. Action to Protect Livestock and Economy
U.S. Launches Aggressive Multi-Million Dollar Plan to Combat Flesh-Eating Maggots Threatening Livestock In a battle that sounds straight out of a science fiction thriller, the U.S. government is taking bold steps to fend off a potential invasion of flesh-eating maggots threatening to infest the southern United States. At the center of this biosecurity crisis is the New World screw worm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax), an aggressive parasitic insect whose larvae—commonly known as flesh-eating or “man-eater” maggots—can cause severe and often fatal wounds in livestock, wildlife, pets, and even humans. These parasitic flies are already causing outbreaks in Central America and Mexico,
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