Flesh-Eating Parasite Crisis Worsens After Horror Discovery

USDA Agricultural Research Service/ReutersA flesh-eating parasite that was wiped out in the United States decades ago is turning up in more places, forcing officials into a fresh scramble to contain a threat that could devastate the cattle industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced three additional confirmed cases of the New World screwworm, bringing the known total to five. The latest discovery includes a dog in New Mexico, marking the first confirmed case outside the main cluster in Texas. The parasite is the larval stage of a fly whose offspring burrow into and consume the living tissue of warm-blooded animals. It was eliminated from the U.S. in the 1960s but resurfaced in Mexico in late 2024 after decades of containment efforts farther south. The newly reclassified New Mexico case has raised fresh questions because the dog had not traveled to either Texas or Mexico. Authorities are now investigating the area around the animal’s home and could expand inspections if infected flies are found. Scientists say more cases may soon be detected as surveillance ramps up. “When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” University of Florida entomologist Edward Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”Read it at Associated PressRead more at The Daily Beast.