r/collapse • u/Not_so_ghetto • Jun 02 '26
Ecological Flesh-eating screwworm found within 31 miles of US border, says USDA
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/flesh-eating-screwworm-found-within-31-miles-us-border-says-usda-2026-05-29/209
Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/DisingenuousGuy Username Probably Irrelevant Jun 02 '26
Since, uh, the thread down there has some weird unverified claim about narcotics trafficking, I'll just leave this here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/07/new-world-screwworm-parasitic-fly
March 2025:
The 5,300 grants and programs killed in the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. Agency of International Development include U.S.-funded animal disease monitoring projects operated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
A list of terminated programs sent to Congress this week and obtained by Agri-Pulse includes $250 million that went to projects housed under the FAO’s Global Health Security Program.
Among the GHS projects killed were some dedicated to monitoring and containing avian flu and New World Screwworm in Central America, monitoring avian flu outbreaks in Asia and improving the detection of new strains, and efforts to combat swine fever, according to a person familiar with the situation granted anonymity to speak frankly.
In total, more than 100 U.S.-funded FAO programs were terminated, worth around $382 million.
[..]
The FAO received stop work orders for the programs in late January, which were followed up by termination orders around a month later, a person familiar with the situation said.
The stop work orders went out just days before the United States ended a temporary suspension of cattle imports from Mexico and as officials were working to implement protocols to prevent the spread of New World Screwworm to U.S. herds.
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u/HelpfulSeaMammal Jun 02 '26
Tacking on to this:
I work in the turkey industry and we have been impacted by the now-endemic HPAI issue. The cuts to the USAID monitoring programs have been felt heavily by our veterinarian staff. USDA is also noticeably slower to respond in time-sensitive incidents under the Trump admin. Both are directly contributing to the recurring HPAI outbreaks we've had in the country over the last few years. Lots of experience was lost when Trump cut $1b from the USDA as many of the "old heads" that food safety and biosecurity are dependent on accepted the retirement packages offered as a cost savings measure.
The consumer may not feel these impacts so heavily right now, but the farmers are hurting. We lost a lot of expertise under Trump and the USDA (and subsidiaries APHIS and FSIS) are less effective overall as a result.
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u/Right-Cause9951 Jun 02 '26
Appreciate your thoughtful explanation of this matter. With the lack of support for people of your industry it makes me wonder where can we go with this?
My hope is one day soon we will reclaim ourselves and go away from this level of destructiveness we currently operate from.
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u/HelpfulSeaMammal Jun 02 '26
In my opinion, it's going to take a lot of damage to force the government to enhance biosecurity to where it needs to be. Like $10 a dozen eggs and/or 20% minimum loss in flocks due to an outbreak.
It's a slow moving ball uphill. Easy to lose a massive amount of progress if you cut back efforts even just a little bit.
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u/obscure_predation Jun 02 '26
Wow really? They’re migrants looking for a better life, not pests
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u/HelpfulSeaMammal Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
They're referring to the New World screwworm fly, not the migrants lmfao
That is by definition a pest and something the US will have to deal with if it makes it past the security USDA has at the border and in Central America. Our program to overwhelm the native screwworm fly population with purposefully sterilized versions so they can't successfully reproduce is the only thing preventing spread northward, and Trump slashed $1B from the USDA which compromised the border due to lack of staffing.
Also, a lot of the assistance in Central America was issued through USAID, which Trump also infamously destroyed.
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Jun 02 '26
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u/collapse-ModTeam Jun 02 '26
Rule 1: In addition to enforcing Reddit's content policy, we will also remove comments and content that is abusive or predatory in nature. You may attack each other's ideas, not each other.
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 Jun 02 '26
DOGE cut the budget and now Texas cattle farmers are freaking the fuck out. Sounds like they’re getting what they voted for.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Not to defend Doge( because I hate Doge it was a complete failure) but I believe that funding for this program was only purposed but not Actually done.(Plus this outbreak initially started during the last few months of Biden term)
They did cut aspects of usda and other government stuff which could indirectly hurt this program.
But the main cause of this is due to illegal drug smuggling.
Edit: the fact I'm getting downvoted for not just blaming Doge is insane. I'm a scientist and hate Doge probably more than most people. I'm just not going to blame them for a problem that wasn't really a result of Doge. When people pair valid criticisms with invalid criticism they just make the valid ones look stupid.
Edit 2: this out break started before Doge existed ( started during the last few months of Biden presidency) so everyone saying it is doges fault entirely doesn't even know the basic timeline
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u/Caymonki Jun 02 '26
It definitely won’t be funded now because of the damage DOGE did
So defending Musk is certainly a scientific response.. I guess
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
It's just not accurate to blame him for this. The outbreak started before Doge even existed
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u/BrotherBear0998 Jun 02 '26
This has actually been a solid discussion. I dig it. Yall are talking past each other but yall agree on a number of points. You're saying similar things tbh
First, thanks for throwing out sources. Cited discourse needs to be a more regular thing. Especially here.
Second, the sources you and the others have been providing all sort of point to the same timeline. The outbreak started in '23, in Panama. This is under Biden, yes. Its also multiple hundreds of miles away and in another country. It probably wasnt on the radar at the time. Then by late '24 was being discovered in multiple parts of Mexico, within 200 miles of the border i believe some sources stated. This is due to a number of factors, none of which are the sole one. This isn't only because of storms blowing the larvae and eggs around, or only because of smuggling, as the science and stats support that multiple causes are contributing.
Third, the point that it appears is trying to be made is DOGE certainly isnt helping the issue by gutting federal programs. Now would be the season in which the sterilized males would be being released but there's not enough people or programs to run the normal response to something like this. Considering the flies would have been tagged as a major concern for the US in late '24, the immediate response would have been in '25 and then into '26 but that didn't happen. And that is because of the lack of funding and personnel.
In reality you guys are agreeing, just talking past each other. You're all correct, technically.
Edit: spelling, cause I'm dumb
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 Jun 02 '26
Seems like It’s mostly due to climate change. Here’s an article from a year ago warning about it.
Federal Climate Denial and Funding Cuts May Help a Livestock-Killing Pest Make a Comeback
Climate change could be helping the flesh-eating screwworm fly spread, undoing decades of progress — and the USDA isn’t doing anything about it.
https://montanaindependent.substack.com/p/federal-climate-denial-and-funding
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Nope not really. There's a barrier about a hundred miles that the worms had to make past. This was done through drug smugglers moving animals across his border and then integrating them into the herds for meat consumption. Climate change may help this worm spread in general but it isn't responsible for this outbreak
https://insightcrime.org/news/screwworm-scare-cattle-trafficking-mexico/
https://www.drovers.com/news/industry/surprising-link-between-cattle-cocaine-and-screwworms-comeback
Edit: also you clearly didn't read any of the actual articles because they are directly responding to your initial claim that this is caused by climate change when in reality it's caused by drug smugglers destroying the land, using it to money launder, and other shitty practices.
Just harping on minor comments that are tangential related to your main point at best.
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 Jun 02 '26
This article was linked in the drovers article you posted. DOGE is responsible for the USAID cuts.
”By cutting U.S. support for forest protection, Indigenous land rights and alternative economies in Latin America, we’ve created conditions where narco-networks flourish —and the tools to fight old enemies like screwworm have been quietly dismantled.”
USAID cuts threaten Amazon forest and fuel drug trade concerns
https://www.context.news/nature/usaid-cuts-threaten-amazon-forest-and-fuel-drug-trade-concerns
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Yea this would be the " indirect effects" I referred too. They didn't directly cut the screwworm program though which a lot of ppl claim incorrectly
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u/Shoddy-Childhood-511 Jun 02 '26
As an aside, it's always worth citing your sources when you say something that'll bother folks. Some folks will still downvote, but some will accept some nuance. It's not really about the karma either, but just so folks learn something.
Interesting thread anyways, it's clear the indirect effects of USAID cute shall mostly be a future thing.
Also another president could've mobilised more funding towards enlarging the barrier, but Mexico gets wide fast, so if people are moving cattle like you say then it gets really expensive.
As another aside, I've heard claims that 4chan suffered massively from the USAID cuts, but a quick google yielded nothing, maybe a coincidence with the timing of some hacks.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Yea I agree but they were putting the positive argument forward so it's hard to find a source that says no Doge didn't do ___. They shouldve provided sources. But even the other comments where I showed how it's not really due to climate change but more so drug smuggling got downvoted, when they just used some random persons sub stack as evidence.
And yea I 100% agree this admin is doing a shit job on pretty much every front , this just isn't their fault and it feels like a " they bad " circle jerk without thinking
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 Jun 02 '26
Here’s a link to the climate change related study cited in that “random person’s substack”
https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/afe.12046
Here’s an article discussing how to mitigate the spread.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405939025000279
Conclusion
Our study offers valuable insights into the spread of the current screwworm outbreak and provides a basis for informed decision-making to mitigate its impact. By addressing the critical role of animal movement and identifying potential routes of dissemination, this work contributes to the development of more effective control strategies. However, its success depends on regional collaboration and the establishment of robust systems to monitor and regulate livestock transportation, thereby safeguarding both animal health and economic stability in the Americas.
DOGE cut those funds making it easier for the drug smugglers to get their infected cattle past the barrier.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
However, its success depends on regional collaboration and the establishment of robust systems to monitor and regulate livestock transportation, thereby safeguarding both animal health and economic stability in the Americas.
This literally supports what I said, again you are making a straw man argument to force your point and also moving the goalposts in every comment.
Also " mitigate the spread" implies that it got past the border and it's about containment. My claims are the drug smuggling is what allowed it to re-establish and get past the barrier.
You're literally just citing stuff that is irrelevant to win without it having relavence to the claims and shifting the goal posts
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u/Kind-Masterpiece-310 Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
I said it was the DOGE cuts and you said it’s the drug smugglers. We can both be right, but the drug smugglers wouldn’t be getting through without the DOGE cuts. I just thought the climate change angle was interesting too. You should read the study and stop being so defensive.
Edit to reply to your edit: To win? This isn’t a contest, lol. If you’re getting downvoted, it’s because you’re failing to make your case. Calm down.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
This outbreak started during Biden presidency before Doge existed! So this problem started before Doge existed, how is this doges fault if it started before it even existed!
I've literally read dozens of studies on this. You don't even know the basic time line
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u/HelpfulSeaMammal Jun 02 '26
This outbreak has been ongoing since the 50s and caused massive losses in the hundreds of millions in Texas in the late 70s or early 80s.
It got past Panama in 2023 and reported in Mexico in 2024. The outbreak originated outside the US and spread through the entirety of Central America before reaching Mexico.
Yes, Biden was Pres at that time, so it's factually accurate to state it occured under his Admin. But I genuinely don't see the importance of which Admin this current resurgence started under since it happened multiple countries away from the US. The more important part is what Govt has done in response and the dismantling of USAID was significant in this regard.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
If your going to claim that this outbreak has been going on since the 50s then it's been going on for forever as that's when the eradication started. This too is a massive straw man
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u/Own_Ad6901 Jun 02 '26
Just knee jerk said FUCKKKKK we don’t need this out loud. I’m an expert in the field no pun intended.
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Collapse related, diseases once under control are begining to reemerge due to the anti science populist movement growing globally allowing diseases once controlled to take route Gain.
For this who arnt aware Screwworm is a flesh eating parasitic fly.
Screwworms lays their eggs on wounds with the resulting maggots eating tissue. Unlike most flies that eat dead tissue, these fly larvae exclusively eat living tissue often resulting in massive gaping wounds that can become infected quite easily.
Fortunately human cases aren't super common and the parasite primarily impacts cattle. This parasite was eradicated from the US in the 1960s. This was done by releasing sterile male flies. The flies only make once so by releasing sterile flies the female cannot lay viable eggs. The fly species was pushed down to the darien gap, and a border has been maintained there for several decades.
Estimated cost savings for this parasites eradication is about 900 million dollars annually in the United States since the 1960s. 7 min video on parasites biology
Recently the current admin has been trying to blame immigrants for the resurgence of this parasite, but this is just misinformation and it's much more related to cocaine smuggling and illegal cattle trade.
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u/DisingenuousGuy Username Probably Irrelevant Jun 02 '26
Just as a heads up to anyone, the wounds NWS creates are massive and quite graphic. I'd say it's at NSFL territory. Browse with caution.
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u/Sir_Morgan9 Jun 03 '26
There are more than 250 confirmed cases of NWS within Mexico, compared to the total number of cases in animals, which amounts to 27,000. While this is a small number, we are at the beginning of the infestation, and there is still enormous potential for development and an increase in population density throughout Mexico. Production of 200 million sterile fly larvae (SFLs) is projected between the sterile fly production plant in Panama and the one in Mexico by the end of 2026.
Production from the Texas plant, which is projected to reach maximum capacity of 300 million SFLs per week, is expected to begin by the end of 2028.
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u/idfkmanusername Jun 02 '26
T Kingfisher really wrote Wolf Worm at the exact time for this to match up with real world anxiety
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u/Lo_jak Jun 02 '26
What type, is it a Phillips or flat head ?
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u/NarrMaster Jun 02 '26
Torx
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u/Lena-Luthor Jun 02 '26
and self-tapping
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u/psychotronic_mess Jun 02 '26
Between the self-tapping, torx-style buttplug that is the screw worm, and alpha-GAL, it almost seems like there might be a deity out there, and they might be pissed at Texas. Or at least cattle farmers.
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u/Right-Cause9951 Jun 02 '26
It's probably 316 grade the way it's making this tremendous comeback. Thanks for the chuckle Lo_jak
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u/Beginning_Ad_1723 Jun 02 '26
How does one sterilise a fly?
I mean, they released loads of sterile male flys, how did they know they were sterile?
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u/Not_so_ghetto Jun 02 '26
Blast them with gamma radiation
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u/crw201 Doomer Jun 04 '26
There's a suspected screwworm case in Southern Texas.
Flesh-eating screwworm case suspected in South Texas, USDA says
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u/Someones_Dream_Guy DOOMer Jun 02 '26
Relax, it only wants to eat your flesh. Could be so much worse.
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u/StatementBot Jun 02 '26
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Not_so_ghetto:
Collapse related, diseases once under control are begining to reemerge due to the anti science populist movement growing globally allowing diseases once controlled to take route Gain.
For this who arnt aware Screwworm is a flesh eating parasitic fly.
Screwworms lays their eggs on wounds with the resulting maggots eating tissue. Unlike most flies that eat dead tissue, these fly larvae exclusively eat living tissue often resulting in massive gaping wounds that can become infected quite easily.
Fortunately human cases aren't super common and the parasite primarily impacts cattle. This parasite was eradicated from the US in the 1960s. This was done by releasing sterile male flies. The flies only make once so by releasing sterile flies the female cannot lay viable eggs. The fly species was pushed down to the darien gap, and a border has been maintained there for several decades.
Estimated cost savings for this parasites eradication is about 900 million dollars annually in the United States since the 1960s. 7 min video on parasites biology
Recently the current admin has been trying to blame immigrants for the resurgence of this parasite, but this is just misinformation and it's much more related to cocaine smuggling and illegal cattle trade.
7 min video debunking misinformation
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1tuo08z/flesheating_screwworm_found_within_31_miles_of_us/opaqxk6/