Flesh-eating screwworms feast on humans in Mexico; human cases top 500 (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 hours ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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Six deaths reported among screwworm cases, one directly attributed to the flies.

Since the flesh-eating screwworm fly reinvaded Mexico in 2024, human cases of the voracious parasite have been mounting. According to a July surveillance report from Mexico’s Ministry of Health, there have been over 500 human cases in 2025 and 2026. A study this week in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases analyzed the information on over 200 confirmed cases reported between April 2025 and March 2026 and found that the infestation pace is increasing.

Among the 200 confirmed cases in the study, six deaths were reported. At least one of the deaths was directly caused by the fly’s maggots, researchers in Mexico reported in the study.

The New World screwworm (NWS) fly was once endemic in Mexico—as well as the US. The flies lay hundreds of eggs in the wounds, inflamed tissue, mucous membranes, and orifices of warm-blooded creatures. The resulting maggots hatch within a day and begin ravenously feasting on the living flesh of their victims. While the fly’s maggots generate ghastly, life-threatening wounds in a variety of warm-blooded species, including humans, they’re particularly devastating to livestock.

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[-] audaxdreik@pawb.social 7 points 1 hour ago

What amazes me about all of this is that flesh-eating worms were just something I had never thought about. Before my lifetime they took great effort to get them under control and so it was a thing that I didn't even realize existed, but BEFORE that they must've been a problem like this. People were out there just getting their flesh et and I hadn't really seen much mention of it in historical writings of books of the time because it was just a thing everyone dealt with, why talk about it? (not that I'm terribly well read from those periods, but)

[-] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

I think this is a big mechanism with watching history repeat itself.

"Why do we need unions? They don't seem to do much."

"Infections aren't a big deal. You just take some antibiotics until you start to feel better."

"These fascist fellows have some reasonable points. We shouldn't hate them for having opinions."

One reason things seem of little import is a whole bunch of people put a lot into getting them under control, hiding the true horrors from future generations who don't look closely.

[-] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 3 points 1 hour ago

Another proof that boomers hit the sweet stop when it comes for the best time to be alive. Were alive when the biggest progress was made and died right before all of it was reversed.

[-] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 3 points 1 hour ago

It's not as bad as it sounds, right?

RIGHT????

this post was submitted on 10 Aug 2026

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