BALTIMORE — Parasitic blowflies, which feed on the flesh of warm-blooded animals.
Dr. Heather Walden of the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine describes the signs of New World screwworm infestation.
“It becomes very putrid. It smells,” said Walden, “They’re feeding on these tissues and a lot of times what happens is as they’re feeding and you’ve got all of this going on, you’re getting some dead tissue there.”
WATCH: New World screwworm case in Maryland
According to the CDC, the flies lay eggs in open wounds or in body openings such as the eyes, ears, nose or mouth.
It is rare in humans and doesn’t spread from person to person, and it primarily impacts livestock.
“This parasite has been in Central and South America for decades,” said Walden, “We’ve been working here in the United States and with other countries to mitigate the spread into our country and other countries since the Sixties and probably way before then.”
In Focus look at how the New World screwworm outbreak could impact the United States
The U.S. eradicated the new world screwworm half a century ago, and now the feds are taking steps to protect cattle and pets as well, which also could be susceptible to the flesh-eating parasite.
“When you’re thinking about your pets, your dogs for instance, if you have open wounds, just making sure that they’re clean, that they’re covered,” said Walden, “If you have animals with wounds or you see fly larvae or maggots, as you mentioned, on any of that, just taking them to your local veterinarian, getting them checked out.”
Putting things into perspective, I spoke to a cattleman in Maryland who says in his 67 years, he’s never seen a case of new world screwworm, and he doesn’t anticipate we’ll see one here in Maryland amidst this latest scare.
