MIAMI — Health officials and doctors are trying to get ahead of any potential problems and inform the public about cases of New World Screwworm, in both humans and livestock.
It’s a parasitic fly that lands on an open wound. Females lay anywhere from 200 to 300 eggs, and once they hatch, the maggots feed on live tissue, causing a painful infestation in humans and in animals.
“They burrow under the skin and spread under the skin,” explained Wags Animal Hospital veterinarian Dr. Ori Eizenberg Weigner. “What happens from that point is you get secondary bacterial infections, inflammatory responses, and that’s why it’s fatal within 7-14 days.”…