The Americans are fighting a flesh-eating parasite with flies and dogs. And Whitehall is watching. Closely.
The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed an outbreak of New World screwworm in Texas. The larvae burrow into living tissue. They eat you from the inside. Treatment is gruesome. Prevention is better.
So the Yanks are deploying sterile male flies. They mate with females. No offspring. The population collapses. And sniffer dogs trained to detect the maggots on livestock. Border checks ramped up. Mexico is nervous.
But here is the catch for Downing Street. Texas has banned livestock exports. The UK imported £120 million worth of Texan beef last year. That pipeline is now shut. No cattle. No sheep. No goats.
DEFRA sources tell me they are 'working round the clock' with the Animal and Plant Health Agency. The risk to British herds is low. But not zero. Screwworm can travel on hides, wool, even travelling pets.
One senior biosecurity official said: 'We cannot afford to be complacent. The 2007 foot-and-mouth outbreak cost the economy £8 billion. This is different biology. Same potential for devastation.'
The UK has a small team of entomologists on standby. They are monitoring the sterile fly release programme. If it fails, the next line of defence is chemical dipping. Expensive. Environmentally toxic. A last resort.
But there is a political angle too. Trade talks with the US are delicate. The Texan ban is a reminder of how quickly agricultural disputes can escalate. One Whitehall source muttered: 'This is a lever. They'll use it.'
Expect early day motions. Expect letters from NFU president to George Eustice. The farming lobby is already mobilising.
The PM is briefed. He knows the optics. Flesh-eating worms on the front pages? Not a good look for Global Britain.
For now, it is watch and wait. The sterile flies are working. The dogs are doing their job. But in Westminster, the real worms are turning.
