The New World screwworm has returned to the U.S. Now what?

It could take more than a year to eradicate the parasite again, experts warn

Two brown cows standing in a pond with a hanging insect dispersal box in the foreground.

On a ranch near La Pryor, Texas, a sterile fly dispersal station from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is strategically placed near cattle. The release of sterile males is one way officials are trying to combat the spread of New World screwworm.

Eric Gay/AP Photo

Flesh-eating, hooked-mouth maggots have wriggled their way back into the United States.