The parasites ‘eating parasites’ in the flesh ‘screwrow’ toward the US

The parasites ‘eating parasites’ in the flesh ‘screwrow’ toward the US

by Stephanie Pappas edited to Jeanna Bryner

Officers in nine countries try to get a handle in the new world screw, a fly whose worms eat the living flesh of livestock.

The pest marchs north of an alarming rate and is currently transferring about 1,400 miles from southern Panama to southern Mexia for about two years. Screwings can hurt for ranchers, whose livestock can be infected if flies lay eggs or wounds, after their resulting larvae burrows, or screw, to that flesh. The Kinabagati look at the moment about 700 miles south of the US border.

Since the insect overcame the efforts of local darién in Darién in 2023, it moved to Central America and is currently found to Mexico state of Oaxaca. Thousands of animals are infected, and officials report twelve cases in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico this year.

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While the fly spread north from the narrow darién gap in Panama and the Central America funnel, it is harder to control. Agricultural departments prevented passing populations by releasing millions of Sterile male fly each week around the entire central america. These men are raised by a Panama facility jointly operated by the country’s agricultural department and the US Department of Agriculture. Because female screws mate only once in their lives, this population of bad men reducing the size of the next generation of flies. Consistent application of this sterile insect technique Eliminates Screwwworm from US in 1966 and from Regions north of Darién Gap in 2006.

That invisible wall holding back screworm crumbles. “I don’t know how quickly it is,” Maxwell Scott said, an entomologist on North Carolina State University, who studied genolya techniques to control flying populations. “There must be a movement of informed livestock, especially in the middle (in central america) …. It only moves so fast,” Scott says the speed of spread.

Those themselves, flies often fly out of about 12 miles in their month of life, as sonjog swiger, an entomologist of Texas A & M University. But the worms of the screworm can travel many distances while progressing inside (and sticking to the flesh of) their hosts. A new generation reaches sexual maturity every week to two weeks, and women can have 2,800 eggs in the course of their life, according to California Department of Food & Agriculture.

Most people are not at risk of screwing infections, which are rarely compared to livestock. But cases showed Central America since the violation of the Garia Gap. Nicaragua first found the parasite To livestock on March 2024; By February 2025, Health Officers there Certified 30 human-cases. Costa Rica saw 42 confirmed cases between January and May 2025 and at least two deaths, according to the country’s health ministry. Honduras reported 40 man’s case and three killed, according to Public Health Network In the formAs Guatemala reported the first human case in May. The Moloic Ministry of Health has confirmed eight human cases.

To people, infection with fly larvae is known as myoisissis. Those who are most at risk for Screwwund myoasis people who work hard to livest or sleep outside. The treatment involves removing worms, sometimes in operation.

Screwings have not returned to US yet. Eternal occurrence it depends when agricultural officials can prevent Mexican line or push the south side. In May 27th agricultural department on May 27 is announced that $ 21 million in funding to recover a fruit fruit plant, Mexican, to produce sterile screwworm flies. If operating, the plant will be curned between 60 million and 100 million additional flies a week to help prevent Mexican population.

While sterile insect technique is likely to retain the key arsenal tool against the screwings for many years to come, new ways of carrying years will eventually come to the problem. To May and Entomologists ethicists, including Scott, wrote a role in Science That the screwworm is a good candidate for complete elimination of gene drive technology to ensure that a fatal mutiy is included in animal cells and animal cells and to pass to the next generation. The loss of screws does not seem to affect the ecosystem, researchers write, and the death of insects is painful and slow.

“The extent of public threats to the public imposed on the screwworm is uncertain, but any insect eats the flesh that is understood by the global mode without eliminating,” letter to researchers.

Currently, these genetic methods are mostly explored on target Lames carrying malariaAlthough scientists at the pasteur institute in the Montevideo in Uruguay are currently working to develop a gene drive strain for screwworm, Scott says. It will take time to progress, but if researchers succeed, the resulting mutant can spell at the end of the scoreworm not only at North ago in America but also in South America. “It’s a fast-growing field,” Scott says.