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Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Crisis warning as flesh-eating insects are found invading US through Mexican migrant route
An invasive species of flesh-eating flies has been discovered moving towards the US border, using the same route millions of migrants took to America in recent years. The New World Screwworm (NWS) lays hundreds of larvae in the wounds of animals and people, which hatch within hours and start consuming the victim's tissue. These infestations can lead to deep, painful wounds that become infected and often result in death if left untreated. Officials in Mexico have discovered several NWS cases in the country's southern states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Veracruz - all of which were part of the migrant caravan route used by millions to cross the US border illegally over the last decade. Researchers fear there may be no way of stopping the flies at the US-Mexico border and they'll start infesting the South within two decades due to rising temperatures. Research indicates states along the Gulf, including Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, are all at risk of seeing the parasites potentially killing cattle and people by 2055. Although the threat of widespread outbreaks of NWS among people in the South, US shoppers would quickly feel the impact of this species killing local cattle. Beef and dairy prices would likely rise because fewer cattle would mean less meat and milk available. Food shortages could occur, particularly for beef from Texas, which is home to 14 percent of all US cattle. Screwworms first became a major problem for the US in the early 1900s, costing $200 million, roughly $1.8 billion today, in infected livestock, according to the University of Texas at Austin. However, the species was wiped out in the US by 1982 using a clever method of sterilizing male flies using radioactive gamma rays so they couldn't produce any offspring with the females. The first human case of an NWS infestation was found in a 77-year-old woman from Chiapas in April. Health officials were able to stabilize her condition in time using antibiotics. Another man in Chiapas was infested with NWS maggots in May after a dog bit him, creating an open wound. Mexico's health ministry confirmed the case and said the 50-year-old was suffering from a fever, intense pain, and larvae visible in the wound. Experts in the US are worried it could have a devastating effect on the economy and local wildlife if it were to reach America. 'It can have a huge impact, certainly an economic impact, because it decreases the health and wellness of our livestock,' Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine Associate Professor Jennifer Koziol told Drovers in December. 'We're thinking about loss of animal use, and certainly thinking about our wildlife populations that could be decimated by this disease,' she added. The New World Screwworm is also known as Cochliomyia hominivorax, or 'man-eater.' Female flies can lay up to 200 to 300 eggs at once and up to 3,000 in their lifetime. Infestations can also be visible on the skin. The parasite hasn't been seen in the US in more than 40 years after extensive federal and state sterilization efforts managed to eradicate the fly in North America. However, the species still existed in South America and eventually broke through a containment barrier at the Darién Gap in Panama in 2022. This area is the same region connecting North and South America that over 1.2 million migrants crossed through between 2021 and 2024, according to Panama's National Migration Service. The Darién was also an area noted for its high injury rates and health risks among the massive caravans attempting to reach the US through Mexico, creating a potential breeding ground for NWS cases. After breaking back into Mexico in 2022, sterile flies were once again used to keep the infestations down, but cases continued to be reported moving north towards the US. By June 2024, the man-eaters were found in cows in Chiapas, near the Guatemala border. This month, the flies have now been found in areas just 500 miles from the southern border. According to a 2019 study in Medical and Veterinary Entomology, at least five US states are projected to be infested with screwworms again by 2055. This includes Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, and California. The main cause is feared to be climate change, as this species thrives in warmer temperatures. In May, US officials officially suspended imports of live cattle, horses, and bison from Mexico after NWS cases were found moving north, getting within 500 miles of the southern border. So far, there haven't been any cases of the screwworms making it into the US this year, but their ability to live within wildlife, livestock, pets, and people has added another level of concern for border officials. On May 27, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a $21 million partnership with the Mexican government that the countries hope will eradicate the insects before they can spread further north. The money will go towards updating a fruit fly sterilization facility in Metapa, Mexico. The lab will attempt to sterilize 60 to 100 million male NWS flies every week using radiation and then release them into Mexico. When these irradiated flies mate with the larvae-carrying females, the insects won't be able to produce any offspring. That should reduce the fly's population over time, lowering the chances of infecting more animals and people throughout North America. 'The investment... is one of many efforts my team is making around the clock to protect our animals, our farm economy, and the security of our nation's food supply,' Secretary Rollins said in a statement. Despite the ongoing sterilization effort, experts have warned that the clock is ticking for US and Mexican officials to stop the spread. Phillip Kaufman, a professor of entomology at Texas A&M University, said: 'Producing sufficient numbers of sterile flies and getting them released in the correct places and at the right time is critical.' 'If the flies move further north than the isthmus in southern Mexico, it becomes more and more challenging to contain them,' the professor told Newsweek.
The Herald
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Many challenges emerge in agriculture after promising start to year
This has been a horrific month for the Eastern Cape. The devastating impact of the recent floods on infrastructure, homes and human loss will continue to weigh on the province and the affected families. Natural disasters also occur at a time when various industries in the Eastern Cape face multiple pressures. For example, the auto industry faces a challenge of imports from China, among other challenges. The farming industry faces animal diseases, with foot-and-mouth disease being the most persistent in the province's dairy industry. However, foot-and-mouth disease is now a challenge nationwide. We are seeing the pressures across the livestock industry. I think if you were to ask any cattle farmer in SA, 'How has the year been?' They will likely tell you that this has been a financially challenging year for the industry. But at the start, the outlook looked promising. We thought the industry would continue its recovery from last year, benefiting from improvements in grazing veld and relatively lower feed prices. This was after the better summer rains improved agricultural conditions across the country. The export markets also opened up in the second half of 2024, following temporary closures in the previous year due to the industry's impact from the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in most provinces. For example, in 2024, SA's cumulative beef exports increased by 30% from 2023, reaching 38,657 tonnes. About 57% of this was fresh beef and 43% was frozen beef. The key markets include China, Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, Angola, Mozambique, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Mauritius, among other countries. However, the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease on a few farms in various regions of SA presented additional challenges, leading to temporary closures of export markets again in an industry that was still on its recovery path. The financial pressures on farmers are immense, and we will have clarity about the scale in the coming months. What has been encouraging is the collaboration between the department of agriculture and organised agriculture in containing the disease and facilitating vaccination on the affected farms. We can expect the vaccination process to gain momentum in the last week of June. However, the key to the long-term success of the industry lies in improving animal health, developing vaccines domestically and implementing better surveillance, among other interventions. Efforts on this vital issue should continue through the collaboration of various stakeholders, including the government, the private sector and organised agriculture. SA must leverage existing private sector expertise as the process to improve state-owned facilities, such as the Onderstepoort Biological Products, a state-owned vaccine manufacturer, is under way. We no longer need just one centre of manufacturing, but rather multiple centres where capabilities exist. This intervention is key not only for preserving the country's share of the industry but also for creating room for new entrant farmers. It is hard to talk about the integration of black farmers into commercial value chains when the risks of disease remain high and can be financially devastating to businesses. The recent statements by agriculture minister John Steenhuisen regarding the department's commitment to strengthening animal and plant health are encouraging. Indeed, in the near term, the focus is on vaccination; however, beyond that process, we must adopt a careful approach to reviving domestic vaccine manufacturing capabilities and involve the private sector. Thereafter, also nudge the department of public works and infrastructure to assist with fencing to ensure the strict control of animal movement in the country. In the former homelands regions of SA, the traditional leaders have an essential role to play in managing the movement of livestock. The task cannot be left solely to the government. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that SA's animal health is a priority. The livestock industry is an anchor of the South African farming economy. The livestock and poultry industries account for nearly half of our agricultural fortunes, with significant contributions by black farmers as part of the inclusive growth agenda. As I have noted in the past, while we now struggle with foot-and-mouth disease, what we have learnt from recent experience is that this may not be the last outbreak, and there may be future outbreaks of various diseases in other value chains. Therefore, SA, more than ever, should increase its investment in animal health by allocating better resources to infrastructure and human capital. For the Eastern Cape, the cattle industry is key and also holds potential for the province's economic recovery, along with other agricultural activities. • Wandile Sihlobo is the chief economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA. The Herald
