By Theodore Ball
As warmer air sets in earlier this year, cattle owners are watching for a familiar pest that’s trying to make its way north.
The U.S. is trying to keep up with what officials say is an inevitable infestation, but the more balmy weather could give the New World Screwworm an easier flight to herds in more northern states before the country’s response is up and running.
The New World Screwworm is a flesh-eating parasite that had not seen in the United States since the 1960s until it was reported in a horse in Florida that arrived here from Argentina in February. Nebraska cattle producers are being urged to stay proactive while awaiting its inevitable arrival to the Great Plains.
Craig Uden, president of Nebraska Cattlemen, says the New World Screwworm, which burrows into open wounds of livestock, is no longer a distant issue.
"Screwworm is an infestation. It's a larva that turns into a worm, and it can enter a needle prick, like if you're vaccinating cattle, or any orifice," Uden said. "Those screwworms are flesh-eating. It starts eating on the animal's muscle, and you create a not-so-pretty sight."
Uden said that cases in cattle have been confirmed within 120 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, and that the question of the parasite's presence is no longer if it will reach Nebraska, but when.
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