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The New World screwworm is a flesh-eating parasite that lays eggs in open wounds. It can be devastating to livestock and, in rare cases, humans.<\/p>\n
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/p>\n
The University of Texas at Arlington received a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to tackle New World screwworm, the parasitic fly that has spread from South America to Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday.<\/p>\n
UTA\u2019s project was one of 40 funded<\/a> by the USDA, which distributed a total of about $105 million in funding. UTA\u2019s project will focus on screwworm surveillance<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas is no stranger to the New World screwworm threat and we are prepared to push this danger out of our state for good,\u201d Abbott said in a statement. \u201cThese grants will empower Texans on the front lines to eradicate the screwworm and protect our livestock industry.\u201d<\/p>\n The New World screwworm is a flesh-eating maggot that was previously declared eliminated from the U.S. in 1966. Recently, it has been detected in at least 12 animals in the U.S., most of those in Texas, according to the USDA\u2019s dashboard of cases<\/a>.<\/p>\n An infection occurs when an infected fly burrows, or \u201cscrews,\u201d into the flesh of warm-blooded animals. The flies are attracted to, and lay eggs in, open wounds. The flies can also lay eggs in \u201cbody cavities with mucus membranes, such as the nose, ears, eyes, or mouth,\u201d according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a>. If left untreated, infections can be fatal.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will burrow or screw into healthy tissue and actually eat into the healthy tissue,\u201d said Dr. Varun Shetty, the chief state epidemiologist for the Department of State Health Services, during a public health meeting earlier this year<\/a>. \u201cThat can cause a lot of pain and then a lot of secondary problems, secondary infections that can lead those animals to become very, very sick.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Stories from Fort Worth Star-Telegram<\/p>\n