From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and other Dem lawmakers are calling for “immediate action” to contain the domestic outbreak of new world screwworm, citing threats to human health and the livestock industry.
The Madison Dem and 20 other senators recently sent a letter to USDA leadership seeking expanded countermeasures against the pest, as at least 12 active cases have been identified in Texas and New Mexico.
This parasitic fly feeds on warm-blooded animals and people, laying eggs in open wounds and other bodily openings where they hatch into flesh-eating maggots. While it’s typically found in South America and nearby regions, it’s been spreading northward through Central America and Mexico since 2023, according to the CDC.
To address the U.S. outbreak and expand the federal government’s response to the parasitic fly, the lawmakers are calling for expanding production of sterile flies to disrupt reproduction, boosting related research into containment and eradication, and expediting approval for technologies to address the outbreak.
The letter also urges greater coordination between government agencies on the issue, incentivizing reporting by indemnifying livestock and poultry producers who report suspected cases, more funding for outreach to livestock and poultry organizations and a number of other measures.
“Due to the scale of the animal health threat that New World Screwworm poses to the United States, we urge the USDA to take further immediate action to contain and respond to this emergency,” the lawmakers wrote.
They also acknowledge the “critical first steps” the agency has already taken such as enhanced surveillance, releasing sterile flies, coordinating with local officials where cases have been found and efforts to protect food supplies.
See the release below.
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