How To Spot The Flesh-eating Parasite That Could Be Lurking On Your Pet

Pet owners crossed Texas and New Mexico are being urged to enactment alert aft much than 30 confirmed cases of New World screwworm infestations—including 2 successful dogs—triggered urgent warnings from veterinarians and animal use groups.

The flesh-eating parasite, which preys connected surviving tissue, returned to nan U.S. successful June for nan first clip successful much than 50 years aft spreading northbound done Panama successful 2024 and Mexico successful 2025. While nan outbreak poses a awesome threat to nan nation's $113 cardinal cattle industry, experts pass nan larvae tin infest almost immoderate warm-blooded animal, including dogs, cats, wildlife and, successful uncommon cases, humans.

Unlike astir alert larvae, which provender connected dormant tissue, New World screwworms burrow into surviving flesh. Female flies laic eggs successful unfastened wounds aliases mucous membranes, wherever nan larvae hatch and provender for astir a week earlier dropping to nan crushed to mature into big flies.

Animals pinch caller injuries, surgical wounds aliases moreover mini bites are particularly vulnerable. Aaron Grady, executive head of nan Houston Humane Society, warned that thing arsenic insignificant arsenic a tick wound tin go an introduction constituent for nan parasite.

Veterinarians are urging owners successful confederate and southwestern Texas and southeastern New Mexico to inspect pets regular for cuts, bites aliases different wounds. Warning signs see visible maggots aliases activity wrong a wound, a foul odor, unexplained anxiety, aliases pets obsessively licking aliases chewing 1 area of their body.

Anyone who spots those symptoms should activity veterinary attraction immediately.

Infested animals tin suffer aggravated pain, and untreated cases tin beryllium fatal. The larvae tin trigger deadly infections, nonstop animals into daze aliases invade captious organs if near unchecked.

To thief forestall infestations, shelters and veterinarians crossed Texas are treating animals pinch medicine flea and tick medications, which besides termination screwworm larvae arsenic they feed.

"It will termination nan larvae arsenic they ingest nan humor and tissue," said Melissa Stansell, a veterinarian pinch Austin Pets Alive!, adding that nan medications target nan parasite during its larval stage.

The bully news, veterinarians say, is that animals tin make a afloat betterment if curen originates quickly. Care typically includes removing nan larvae and treating secondary infections pinch antibiotics.

"It is only fatal if near untreated," Stansell said.

Federal and authorities officials are besides reviving nan strategy that wiped retired nan (seed) disease decades ago: releasing millions of sterile antheral flies. Because female screwworm flies mate only once, breeding pinch a sterile antheral prevents their eggs from hatching, gradually collapsing nan section population.

For years, nan Western Hemisphere relied connected a azygous sterile-fly accumulation installation successful Panama. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has since invested $21 cardinal to person a installation successful confederate Mexico into a screwworm breeding center, which precocious began operations.

The agency besides plans to walk $750 cardinal connected a caller sterile-fly accumulation installation successful Texas, scheduled to unfastened adjacent twelvemonth arsenic officials title to extremity nan parasite from gaining a imperishable foothold successful nan United States.