All posts tagged "Screwworm"

A flesh-eating parasite has the Trump administration backpedaling fast ahead of the midterm elections, according to a new report.

New World screwworm, a parasite that threatens U.S. livestock, forced the Agriculture department to partially lifting its ban on cattle imports from Mexico, according to a Friday night report from Politico.

The Trump administration is reportedly trying to lower the prices of beef ahead of the midterms. ...

The Trump administration erroneously touted export numbers for an American staple while the real numbers spark concern, per a report.

Reuters reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had to revise beef export sales and slash numbers by 90 percent compared to the incorrect number offered for a sales period ending in late June.

The USDA touted in early July that the exporters sold more than 126,000 metric tons of U.S. beef to foreign buyers, but the real number turned out to be just over 12,000 metric tons. ...

The internet mocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and officials after they dodged a reporter's question during a press conference on Monday, refusing to discuss screwworms.

Kennedy and other officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education announced that 19 medical schools in the United States had signed the Trump administration’s Nutrition Education Pledge. During the press conference in Washington, D.C., a reporter asked about the flesh-eating parasite outbreak.

"Thank you, Secretary Kennedy and Under Secretary Kent. You both talked about federal funding for the medical schools. What happens if they don't meet the 48-hour federal funding requirement ... and also, Secretary Kennedy, if you can answer this question. What would the CDC be prepared to do if there is a human case of the new world screwworm?" the reporter asked....

A red state governor declared a disaster in hundreds of counties as the spread of a flesh-eating parasite poses an "imminent threat," according to local reporting.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced "a state of disaster" for all 254 Texas counties as New World Screwworm threatens the state's wildlife and livestock industry, according to Texas political reporter Brandon Waltens.

For the first time in decades, screwworm was found in U.S. cattle livestock earlier this week. The parasite is mostly a threat to cattle and beef prices, not humans, according to national reporting....

A red state official ripped the Trump administration for how it mishandled a dangerous parasite now spreading fear.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said on CNN that he started talking to the White House and Agriculture Sec. Brooke Rollins "for the first time" recently about New World Screwworm, despite giving them information about how to mitigate it much sooner.

Miller was talking about killing the screwworm using fly bait and then sterile flies, and said that the Agriculture Department ignored his calls to deploy it sooner....

An uncomfortable description of a threatening parasite by a Trump administration official is drawing startled reactions.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins spoke at an oversight hearing on Thursday about the spread of the New World Screwworm that threatens cattle ranches.

"It's a vexing challenge that we thought we had beaten in the 1970s," Rollins said. "You need about 400 million sterile flies per week to mate with the bad flies...the larva [of the screwworm] is what actually eats the flesh."...