THENATIONALPULSE (Pulse Wires) - USDA Lets Loose 400 Million Lab-Bred Flies to Counteract Flesh-Eating Screwworms.
The USDA is deploying hundreds of millions of flies bred in a factory to prevent the reestablishment of the New World screwworm in the U.S., a parasite capable of devastating livestock and wildlife, and occasionally infecting humans.
The USDA is deploying hundreds of millions of flies bred in a factory to prevent the reestablishment of the New World screwworm in the U.S., a parasite capable of devastating livestock and wildlife , and occasionally infecting humans. PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA ) has released nearly 400 million sterile flies over Texas and northern Mexico to combat the spread of the New World screwworm , a flesh-eating parasite that threatens livestock, wildlife, pets, and occasionally humans. This effort aims to prevent the parasite from becoming reestablished in the United States after confirmed cases were reported in Texas and New Mexico last month. DETAIL: The campaign relies on breeding sterile insects en…Open