Ezekiel Wilson-Porter on the New World Screwworm

As a Skokie resident, I’m alarmed by the New World Screwworm outbreak now confirmed in Texas and I think Illinois should be paying attention.

The New World Screwworm has already infected cattle, goats and at least one dog. If the parasite continues spreading north, researchers estimate American cattle ranchers could lose billions of dollars this year alone. The pets and horses of families across Illinois are at risk.

This was preventable. In the 1960s, a joint USAID–USDA program eradicated screwworm from the U.S. by dropping sterile flies along the border. Today our labs can only produce 100 million sterile flies per week, 400 million short of what scientists say is needed to stop the spread.

The Trump administration’s gutting of USAID eliminated the very programs monitoring screwworm populations in Central America. Parasites don’t check passports. USAID was less than 1% of the federal budget, yet it kept outbreaks like this one from reaching our doorstep. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth should push to restore these critical programs now.

Ezekiel Wilson-Porter