What is the Flesh-Eating Screwworm Parasite Detected in the US For the First Time?

Cochliomyia hominivorax (New World Screwworm) is primary invader of fresh, uncontaminated skin wounds of domestic animals, wildlife, and people. Adult flies, about the size of a house fly, have orange eyes, blue-green bodies, and three dark stripes down their backs. Larvae (maggots) burrow (screw) into wounds causing severe tissue damage and infection. Constant vigilance by all who deal with animals is necessary to detect an infestation quickly and to eradicate it before the flies reproduce and