New World screw worm that eats flesh could have health risks for cattle, humans
A threat to American cattle, New World Tornworm (NWS), which has been considered eradicated from the country since 1966, has resurfaced as a potential danger after an outbreak in Mexico.
The news caused a closure of cattle imports, horses and bison along the southern border, as the Secretary of the United States Department (USDA), Brooke Rollins, announced on Sunday, at an X position on Sunday.
“Due to the threat of the new world of the worlds, I am announcing the suspension of the imports of livestock, horse and bison through the border entrance ports of the southern US. UU. From immediately,” he wrote in the position.
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“The last time this devastating plague invaded the United States, our livestock industry took 30 years to recover. This cannot happen again.”
What is the new screw world?
The NWS is a fly that is endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some South American countries, according to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Cochliomyia hominivorax, the New World screw worm fly, or the screw worm for abbreviation, is a kind of parasitic fly that is known by the way in which its larvae (worms) eat live tissue of animals. (Istock)
Although the flies themselves are found in forests and other forested areas, they will seek hosts such as cattle or horses in pastures and fields, according to the previous source.
A female fly puts eggs in a wound or hole of a live and hot blood. The eggs then hatch in larvae (worms) that are excavated in the flesh, causing potentially mortal damage.
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Screw worms bear the name of the behavior of their worms, since they bury in the flesh in a similar way to how a screw is conducted in the wood.
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“The worms cause extensive damage to tear the tissue of the hosts with sharp mouth hooks,” according to the APHIS website. This can expand the wound and attract more flies to put eggs.
A female fly puts eggs in a wound or hole of a live and hot blood, according to the previous source. The eggs then hatch in larvae (worms) that are excavated in the flesh, causing potentially mortal damage. (Alamy)
In rare cases, larvae can feed on people, disease control centers and prevention states.
These infestations can be very painful and can cause serious and potentially deadly damage to their guests when causing miiasis, a parasitic infection of fly larvae in the human tissue.
Risk and prevention factors
Screw worms are often found in South America and the Caribbean.
“People who travel to these areas spend time among cattle animals, sleep outdoors and have an open wound run a greater risk of infesting with NWS,” says the CDC.
“Wounds as small as a tick bite can attract a female to feed.”
People who are immunocompromised, very young or very old or malnourished also have a higher risk of infection, according to the previous source.
Those who have had recent surgery also have a higher risk, “since flies will put eggs on open sores,” according to CDC.
Potential impact
If another outbreak occurred in the US. “Pets, cattle, wildlife and even humans can suffer and die from screw worm miiasis,” the USDA warned.
The USDA estimates that cattle producers in the southwest of the United States lost between $ 50 million and $ 100 million annually due to NWS in the 1950s and 1960s until it was successfully eradicated. (Istock)
The USDA estimates that cattle producers in the southwest of the United States lost between $ 50 million and $ 100 million annually due to NWS in the 1950s and 1960s until it was successfully eradicated.
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“Presumably, these higher losses in the southwest were due to the largest populations of cattle, a larger and/or greater potential geographical area for the NWS to pass the winter,” the report said.
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While the USDA eradicated the NWS in 1966, there was an outbreak contained in the Florida Keys in 2016. It was affected only in the population of deer in danger of extinction and was eradicated in March 2017, according to Aphis.
Greg Wehner contributed reports.
Khloe Quill is a lifestyle production assistant with News Digital. She and the lifestyle team cover a variety of stories issues that include food and drink, travel and health.