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What to know about the New World screwworm fly and its reappearance in the US
Key takeaways
- The New World screwworm fly is a flesh-eating parasite.
- The infestation was discovered in a single 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 161 kilometres south-west of San Antonio and 80 kilometres from the US-Mexico border.
- Federal and state officials had been working to keep the parasite from reaching Texas, home to $US17 billion worth of the nation's cattle, making it the industry's number one state.
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The New World screwworm fly is a flesh-eating parasite. (AP: Denise Bonilla/US Department of Agriculture via AP)
Link copied Share Share article The New World screwworm fly is threatening the $US113 billion United States cattle industry for the first time in more than a half century, with an infestation from its flesh-eating larvae confirmed in south Texas.
The infestation was discovered in a single 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 161 kilometres south-west of San Antonio and 80 kilometres from the US-Mexico border.
Article preview — originally published by ABC Australia. Full story at the source.
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