CDC Alert: Flesh-eating Screwworms Near Texas Border as Tamaulipas Outbreak Grows

The CDC issued a Health Advisory warning clinicians that the New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae eat living tissue, is expanding toward Texas after eight active animal cases in Tamaulipas and growing outbreaks across Mexico. The Barnyard-friendly pest can devastate livestock and occasionally affect people; eradication programs using sterile male flies have previously worked, but a 2022 breach has allowed spread. US officials urge clinicians to identify and remove all larvae, dispose of them in 70% ethanol, report cases to the CDC, and submit larvae for confirmation, while the USDA continues mass sterile-male releases to reestablish a barrier along the border. Human risk remains low, but awareness is being heightened due to cross-border movement and ongoing outbreaks.