Flesh-eating flies are eating their way through Mexico, CDC warns

The CDC has issued a health alert to clinicians warning of the increasing number of flesh-eating parasitic flies, the New World Screwworm, in Mexico's Tamaulipas state. The alert directs health workers to be on the lookout for wounds teeming with maggots and provides guidance on how to handle such cases. The flies, which lay eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals, have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to livestock. The US Department of Agriculture is leading the response to the threat, which had been held at bay until recently. The CDC considers the risk to people to be low, but the agency is issuing this Health Advisory to increase awareness of the outbreak and to summarize CDC recommendations for clinicians and health departments in the United States.