A flesh-eating parasite once declared eradicated from the United States has returned, with 15 New World screwworm cases confirmed in Texas and New Mexico.
The larvae burrow into open wounds of warm-blooded animals, feeding on living tissue and potentially killing hosts if left untreated.
Federal and state officials are deploying sterile flies and enhanced surveillance to contain the outbreak, which could cost billions of dollars if it spreads.
AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.
Earlier this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told residents to brace themselves for an “extraordinarily challenging summer.” A flesh-eating parasite that did hundreds of millions of dollars of damage across the state in the 1960s and ’70s, one that had been considered eradicated from the US for decades, has come back and poses a serious threat to cattle, wildlife and pets.
