US plans to fight flesh-eating screwworm outbreak with flies and dogs
Summary
US officials are working to stop an outbreak of flesh-eating screwworm flies, which were found in the US for the first time since 1966. Their plan includes releasing millions of sterile flies, setting up a quarantine zone near the Texas-Mexico border, and using sniffer dogs to detect the insects.Key Facts
- A screwworm infestation was detected in a calf in La Pryor, Texas, near the Mexico border.
- Screwworm larvae hatch from eggs laid in open wounds and eat living flesh, which can kill animals if untreated.
- Officials set up a 20-kilometer control zone with quarantines and movement restrictions.
- The plan uses sterile insect technique: releasing sterile male flies that mate but produce no offspring.
- US and Mexico can currently produce 100 million sterile flies per week, but about 600 million per week are needed.
- Since February, around 8 million sterile flies have been released weekly by ground and air.
- The risk to humans is low, but cattle ranchers fear heavy damage to beef markets.
- Similar sterile fly releases helped control screwworms in Central America in the past.
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