{"id":299569,"date":"2026-06-08T02:15:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T02:15:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/299569\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T02:15:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T02:15:47","slug":"flesh-eating-parasites-spark-emergency-rule-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/299569\/","title":{"rendered":"Flesh-eating parasites spark emergency rule in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After sparking fears about a resurgence in Florida<\/a>, the New World Screwworm (NWS) has prompted an emergency rule in the state, according to the FDACS.<\/p>\n

In a release<\/a>, state officials said that the NWS was detected in South Texas, putting the spread even closer to the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

In response, Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson issued an Emergency Rule<\/a> to increase restrictions on bringing warm-blooded animals into Florida from designated infestation zones and \u201chigh-risk areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Left) New World Screwworms; (Right) Blowflies were sterilized in the 1950s to help eradicate screwworm infestations in Florida (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services\/Florida State Archives)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to need a unified front from the government, our agriculture community, and the public to respond to this threat,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE NEW WORLD SCREWWORMS?<\/p>\n

Per experts, the NWS are maggots that often enter animals through open wounds, feeding on an animal\u2019s living flesh. As a result, infestations can be fatal if not treated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe New World Screwworm<\/a> \u2014 a destructive parasite that targets warm-blooded animals \u2014 was eradicated from the U.S. more than four decades ago,” state officials announced. \u201cIts return would pose a serious threat to livestock, wildlife, and domestic animals, particularly in states like Florida with warm climates and abundant animal populations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts state that screwworm eggs are deposited in a \u201cshingle-like manner\u201d at the edges of superficial wounds, with larvae feeding by burrowing into the wound like a screw \u2014 hence the name<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An illustration depicting a larvae infestation, showing how the “screwworm” burrows into its host (U.S. Department of Agriculture)<\/p>\n

While the NWS had been present in the southwestern U.S. since at least 1842, it was first documented as a major problem in 1933 after shipments of infested animals came in from the region.<\/p>\n

At the time, the federal government and the state of Florida began developing tactics to deal with the threat, such as education programs, special insecticides, and radiation to sterilize the insects.<\/p>\n

450 sterile screwworm pupae in a typical paper box “bomb” to be dropped on a cattle ranch by plane in 1958 \u2014 just one of the methods to fight back against New World Screwworm infestations in Florida (Florida State Archives (Public Domain))<\/p>\n

But in the meantime, producers lost out on tens of millions of dollars each year as the NWS ravaged livestock, data shows.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the U.S. and Mexico worked together to push these infestations down to the southern borders of Mexico in 1986. <\/p>\n

[RELATED: Millions of bioengineered mosquitoes may soon be released into Florida]<\/p>\n

There was a brief reemergence in the Florida Keys affecting the endangered Key deer back in 2016, though the outbreak was ultimately eradicated.<\/p>\n

However, Florida officials said that infestations have been spreading north from Panama since 2023, culminating in the discovery of NWS in a bovine in South Texas<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n

WHAT ARE THE EMERGENCY RULES?<\/p>\n

To prevent the NWS from infiltrating Florida again, Simpson\u2019s emergency rule imposes temporary restrictions on the importation of warm-blooded animals originating from certain high-risk and infested areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The latest guidelines are as follows:<\/p>\n

New World Screwworm Enhanced Protocols (June 2026) (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services)<\/p>\n

Federal officials said that the USDA and Texas are implementing quarantines as necessary and working to release sterile NWS flies to fight potential population growth.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, signs of screwworm infestation in animals include the following symptoms:<\/p>\n

Wounds in living animals infested with maggots<\/p>\n

Blood-tinged discharge from the infested wounds<\/p>\n

Foul odor<\/p>\n

Discomfort<\/p>\n

Depressed\/no eating<\/p>\n

Decreased milk production<\/p>\n

Seclusion from rest of herd or flock<\/p>\n

If you come across a suspected case of screwworms or have questions about potential infestations, you can call the FDACS at (850) 410-0900 or click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 After sparking fears about a resurgence in Florida, the New World Screwworm (NWS) has prompted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299570,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1684,558,28,30,29,571,2457],"class_list":["post-299569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-animals","tag-business","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-health","tag-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299569","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299569"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299569\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299569"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299569"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299569"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}