Terrifying flesh-devouring animal nicknamed the ‘man-eater’ is now on the rise in Texas
A fly that lays carnivorous larvae could pose a threat to people and wildlife in Texas after being discovered in Mexico.
The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife has issued an urgent warning to southern residents to be on the lookout for the New World screwworm, whose Latin name, hominivorax, means “man-eater.”
The warning comes after a cow with the larvae was found on November 22 during an inspection checkpoint in Chiapas, near the Mexico-Guatemala border.
“As a protective measure, animal health officials are asking those along the southern border with Texas to monitor wildlife, livestock and pets for clinical signs [the insect] and immediately report potential cases,” the TPWD said in a statement.
According to the agency, the screwworm migrates ‘gradually’ north and mainly infects livestock.
However, it can affect people and wildlife, including deer and birds, TPWD said.
The parasite has not been seen in the US since 1966, after an extensive federal and state sterilization process succeeded in eradicating the fly from the United States.
Experts are concerned that it could have a devastating effect on the US economy if it reaches the US.
The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife has issued an urgent warning to southern residents to be on the lookout for the carnivorous New World Screwworm, whose Latin name, hominivorax, means “man-eater.”
The warning comes after a cow with the larvae was found on November 22 during an inspection checkpoint in Chiapas, near the Mexico-Guatemala border. The parasite has not been seen in the US since 1966 (photo: El Paso, Texas)
A map showing where the screwworm is currently located and how deeply it is expected to invade the United States by 2055
“It can have a huge impact, especially an economic impact, because it reduces the health and welfare of our livestock,” Jennifer Koziol, an associate professor at the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine, told me. Drovers.
“We’re thinking about the loss of animal use, and certainly the wildlife populations that could be decimated by this disease.”
The screwworm begins its reign of terror when the female fly lays her eggs in an open wound or openings.
The female flies are attracted to the open wounds and openings by the scents they emit. They can be as small as a tick bite, a nose or eye opening, a newborn baby’s belly button or genitals, the TPWD said.
These eggs then hatch into dangerous larvae that burrow into the wound like screws, according to the agency.
Female flies can lay up to 200 to 300 eggs at a time and up to 3,000 during her lifetime. KHO 11. Infections may also be visible on the skin.
Infections can be fatal and are often serious. The New York Times reported in 1977 that one infection could “kill a full-grown bull in ten days.”
The government agency recommends covering all open wounds, especially if traveling in affected areas such as Central or South America. It is also recommended to wear insect repellent when hunting, hiking or bird watching.
Experts are concerned that it could have a devastating effect on the US economy if it reaches the US. “It can have a huge impact, especially an economic impact, because it reduces the health and welfare of our livestock,” says Associate Professor Jennifer Koziol (pictured).
The screwworm begins its reign of terror with a female fly laying eggs in an open wound or openings. These eggs then hatch into dangerous larvae that burrow into wounds like screws
The sterilization project
When screwworms became a major problem in the U.S., it cost the U.S. $200 million (now about $1.8 billion) in livestock, according to KHOU.
In the 1930s, the United States Department of Agriculture hired a team of scientists, including entomologist Edward F. Knipling, to study the fly. NPR.
Knipling had the idea to develop contraception for male flies, and despite his opponents who thought there was no way to sterilize enough of them, his plan worked.
He hypothesized that sterilized flies released into the wild would cause the fly population to decline and eventually be eradicated from the United States.
For more than two decades, he and Raymond Bushland worked to castrate flies by growing millions in a laboratory using reheated ground beef, according to NPR.
With the help of gamma radiation they were able to make the flies infertile.
In 1958, the two scientists convinced the government to drop 50 million flies in Florida every week.
As more were dropped, the screwworm began to disappear from the state and by 1959 the fly was gone from the Southeast.
“The snowball started rolling from there,” Knipling said.
Flies were dropped over Texas, as well as in the Southwest, Mexico and Central America.
In the 1930s, the United States Department of Agriculture hired a team of scientists, including entomologist Edward F. Knipling, to study the fly. Knipling had the idea to develop contraception for male flies by releasing sterilized flies into the wild. It worked
For more than two decades, he and Raymond Bushland worked to castrate flies by growing millions in a laboratory using reheated ground beef. With the help of gamma radiation they were able to make the flies infertile. By 1966, the last flies in the US were exterminated
By 1997, the screwworm was eradicated from Panama to Texas.
The Department of Agriculture is still dropping flies over Panama to prevent the insects from traveling back to the US from South America.
“It creates a buffer zone,” the scientist said.
The UN called Knipling and Bushland’s work one of the “greatest animal health achievements” of the 20th century.
In September 2016, the scientists were honored with the Golden Goose Award, which honors federally funded research that was “seemingly obscure” and ultimately led to a major breakthrough, according to NPR.
The research went beyond the screwworm and was used to keep the Mediterranean fruit fly out of North America and the melon fly out of Okinawa in Japan.