Des Moines, Iowa (RI) — The first human case of a dangerous, flesh-eating parasite has been confirmed in the United States, in someone who recently traveled to El Salvador, and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins warns the “New World Screwworm” could devastate cattle herds if it reaches the U.S.
Rollins discussed the situation at a press conference during the Iowa State Fair. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is building a facility in Texas, near the southern border, to produce and release hundreds of millions of sterile flies in hopes of eradicating the pest in Mexico before it reaches the U.S.
In July, the Mexican government announced it was building a 51-million dollar facility that will also produce and release sterile flies in hopes of pushing the screwworm population further south to the border between Panama and Colombia. Rollins says teams of USDA employees will be dispatched to Mexico, too.
The U.S. government has stopped imports of live cattle from Mexico, and Rollins says the USDA is training dogs that will be able to detect screwworm infestations in animals at U.S. border crossings.
KIWA Staff Stock Photo
