A flesh-eating parasite’s reemergence in Texas after six decades isn’t just threatening to impose millions of dollars in losses on the cattle industry—it’s also causing a major rift between a MAGA diehard and the Trump administration over its response to the crisis.
The New World screwworm fly—a parasitic fly that lays its eggs in the open wounds of not only livestock like cattle, but also pets and humans in some cases—was discovered in Texas last week for the first time since 1966. Then on Monday, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also reported the first case of the fly in neighboring New Mexico.
