Greg Abbott told residents to brace themselves for an “ extraordinarily challenging summer. ” A flesh-eating parasite that did hundreds of millions of dollars of damage across the state in the 1960s and ’ 70s, one that had been considered eradicated from the US for decades, has come back and poses a serious threat to cattle, wildlife and pets. The first instance of New World screwworm in this latest outbreak was affirmed June 3 in a 3-week-old calf in South Texas that has since recovered. Observers say this could mark a turning point in how the issue is addressed.

Background and Context

The current development is the latest chapter in a longer and complex story.

If the parasite ’ s advance can ’ t be halted by the state and federal governments ’ stepped-up surveillance, containment and treatment efforts, experts say, the outbreak could cost the southwestern United States alone billions of dollars.

It ’ s called a screwworm because, unlike many fly larvae that feed on dead or decaying flesh, New World screwworm larvae screw into the flesh of warm-blooded animals to feed.

At the same time, emory Cushing, an entomologist with the USDA ’ s Bureau of Entomology, and Walter Patton, a scientist at the University of Liverpool in England, first identified New World screwworm as a distinct species of fly in 1933.

Political Implications

Reactions from key figures have helped frame what this development could mean.

But in the 1980s, when the species turned up in North Africa, a region that had its own distinct screwworm, scientists needed a way to distinguish between the two, said Cammack, an assistant professor and the state extension specialist at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater.

Adding further dimension to the story, scientists named the fly commonly determined in Central, South and now North America the New World screwworm and labeled the kind discovered more typically in Africa and Southeast Asia the Old World screwworm.

Compounding the significance of these events, the New World screwworm makes warm-blooded animals sick when the adult female deposits eggs into an open wound or a mucous membrane, like in the eye or nose.

What This Means for Americans

The broader implications of this development are already coming into focus.

The smell that comes from the deterioration in the animal ’ s flesh can also attract additional screwworm to lay more eggs, and it may attract other species of fly that can co-infest the lesions.

Against this backdrop, larvae can rupture arteries, causing severe bleeding and leaving the animals severely anemic.

At the same time, if it ’ s caught early, animals can be cured of a New World screwworm infestation.

At the same time, in August, the US Department of Health and Human Services issued a declaration allowing the US Food and Drug Administration to provide emergency use authorizations for animal drugs to treat and prevent infestations of screwworm.

At the same time, “ It takes a lot of very specific steps to happen, so it ’ s not like this is just g

What Comes Next

The developments detailed here represent only the latest chapter in an ongoing story. As more information becomes available, the full picture is expected to come into sharper focus for those following the situation.