
Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (ITIS; name is valid but unverified)
New World screwworm, primary screwworm
South America and the Caribbean (CFSPH 2012)
Eradicated in the U.S. in 1966 (ARS 1992)
Could be reintroduced to the U.S. from an infested animal (CFSPH 2012)
Parasite that kills livestock and wildlife, particularly cattle (CFSPH 2012)
Spotlights
USDA. ARS. Tellus.
Eliminating screwworms from the United States saves farmers and ranchers nearly $900 million in lost livestock each year.
USDA. Blog.
Early in October 2016, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was faced once again with New World screwworm, which had been eradicated from the United States more than three decades ago. Infestation of this flesh-eating parasite was confirmed in deer from the National Key Deer Refuge in the Florida Keys.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) immediately began releasing sterile male flies in Florida’s affected areas as part of an aggressive eradication campaign. By March 2017, the screwworm had been successfully eradicated from Florida.
USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
An interactive story map of the USDA's history of eradicating the infestation and the continuing efforts to keep screwworm out of the US.
Images
Videos
Google. YouTube; Oklahoma State University. SUNUP TV.
Selected Resources
The section below contains highly relevant resources for this species, organized by source. Or, to display all related content view all resources for Screwworm.
Partnership
Federal Government
State and Local Government
Academic
Iowa State University. Center for Food Security and Public Health.
Citations
ARS. 1992. Subduing the screwworm. Agricultural Research.
Center for Food Security and Public Health. 2006. Fast Facts: Screwworm (PDF | 95 KB). Iowa State University.
Center for Food Security and Public Health. 2012. Screwworm Myiasis (PDF | 252 KB). Iowa State University.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Cochliomyia hominivorax. [Accessed Mar 5, 2015].