A Flesh-Eating Parasite Nears the US Border
A deadly fly that was once wiped out in North America has resurfaced in northern Mexico, approaching the US border. In September, Mexican authorities confirmed a case of a deadly flesh-eating parasite in the state of Nuevo León, less than 70 miles from the Texas border.
The finding, in an eight-month-old cow near the busy Monterrey-to-Laredo highway, marks the northernmost detection of Cochliomyia hominivorax – the New World screwworm – in decades and the closest it’s been to the United States since its eradication there more than half a century ago.
The discovery has set off alarm bells among US ranchers and veterinarians, who still remember the devastation this flesh-eating insect once caused.
The screwworm, a metallic blue-grey blowfly, looks ordinary enough, but its larvae begin burrowing into the flesh of living animals.
Author's summary: A deadly parasite is approaching the US border, raising concerns.
- Species: Cochliomyia hominivorax (New World screwworm)
- Location: Northern Mexico, near the Texas border
- Distance from US border: less than 70 miles