McALLEN — The federal government is ramping up efforts in Texas to combat the spread of New World Screwworm, a pest that could devastate the cattle and wildlife industries in Texas and the nation.

The federal government is ramping up efforts in Texas to combat the spread of New World Screwworm, a pest that could devastate the cattle and wildlife industries in Texas and the nation.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of new initiatives and investments to monitor and prevent the spread of screwworm, which is traveling north through Mexico and was detected about 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border in July.

Screwworms are parasitic flies that lay larvae in open wounds of live, warm-blooded animals, causing them serious harm and, potentially, death.

  • IWW4@lemmy.zip
    0·
    23 days ago

    Yeah that is going to go well…

    Anyone ever heard about that Rabbit Proof Fence those cats down under tried?

    • modern_drift@lemmy.world
      0·
      23 days ago

      It’s gone well for decades. I am unsure what caused this lapse but screw worms have been held back from North and central America since the fifties.

      Which isn’t saying people currently in charge can do as well.

      • TheRealKuni@piefed.socialEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        Beyond cuts to funding, an article a few months ago mentioned cattle smuggling into Mexico from further south bringing the larva with them.

        • Boddhisatva@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          23 days ago

          Here is a current article that discusses cattle smuggling as the problem.

          He runs his hands under their hooves, feeling for wounds through which the deadly screwworm, opens new tab parasite could burrow inside their bodies. Efforts to protect his herd can only go so far, he says, until Mexico’s government steps up to tackle what he considers the core issue: illegal livestock moving unchecked across the border from Central America.

          Maggots from screwworm flies burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing serious damage. While it can often be fatal, infected animals can be treated by removing larvae and applying medications, if it is detected early enough.

          The infestation, which began in November, has now claimed its first human casualty: an 86-year-old woman with advanced cancer and complications from a screwworm infection who died in the state of Campeche in late July. While infections are rarer (and treatable) in humans, Mexico confirmed more than 30 cases in people in the last week of July.

          “From Guatemala there is indiscriminate passage of stolen cattle, sick cattle. There is no health control,” Herrera told Reuters. “We, the producers, are the ones who suffer.”

          Estimates cited by Mexican authorities in 2022 and others by sector experts indicate the number of illegal cattle crossing into Mexico is at least 800,000 per year.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      23 days ago

      Breeding sterile screw worms has done wonders to combat the infestation in North America for decades. It also completely eliminated the infestation in Africa as well. It’s a fucking amazing idea that works.