Flesh-Eating Parasite Returns to Texas After Nearly 60 Years

A parasitic flesh-eating fly has been detected in south Texas for the first time since 1966, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed Wednesday.

The New World screwworm was found in a three-week-old calf on a ranch in LaPryor, Texas, about 50 miles from the Mexican border. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the calf is expected to recover with treatment.

The female fly lays eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes. The larvae hatch and feed on living tissue, posing a threat to livestock and, rarely, humans. Officials stress the parasite does not infest food.

Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges has ordered a 12-mile quarantine zone around the affected ranch. Movement of any warm-blooded animal-including pets-out of the zone is prohibited without inspection.

Rollins said the USDA is confident the infestation will be contained. The agency is deploying the sterile insect technique, releasing sterilized male flies to prevent reproduction.

While eradicated from the U.S. in the 1970s, the screwworm has recently re-established itself across Central America and Mexico. It remains endemic in South America and parts of the Caribbean.