The United States Department of Agriculture has launched an innovative biological countermeasure against an outbreak of the New World screwworm in Florida, deploying sterile flies and specially trained detection dogs. The parasite, which infects warm-blooded animals including livestock, can cause fatal infestations if untreated. UK animal health experts from the Animal and Plant Health Agency have been providing advisory support, drawing on Britain's experience with similar eradication programmes.
The operation marks a significant test of non-chemical pest control methods in a major agricultural economy. The screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, lays eggs in open wounds, with larvae feeding on living tissue. Eradication efforts rely on the sterile insect technique: releasing millions of sterilised male flies to reduce reproduction rates.
Detection dogs, trained to identify infected animals, enable early intervention. The outbreak, centred on Florida's livestock regions, has prompted movement restrictions. US officials have emphasised that the technique, used successfully in Central America, poses no risk to human health.
UK advisors have highlighted the importance of surveillance to prevent introduction into European livestock.
