US Expands Response to New World Screwworm Cases

Federal authorities have initiated comprehensive actions in response to the detection of New World screwworm cases in the United States for the first time in ten years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has activated a formal emergency response. This step involves investigating the outbreak and preparing for potential human exposure.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins emphasized that the CDC’s efforts enhance the deployment of federal resources. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization for the generic over-the-counter tablet, nitenpyram, to treat New World screwworm in dogs and cats. This marks the first generic animal drug authorized for combating this parasite.

Instances of screwworm have surfaced in Texas and New Mexico, affecting cattle, a goat, and a dog.

The New World screwworm is a fly with larvae that consume the living tissue of warm-blooded animals. It infiltrates through open wounds and burrows into the flesh.

If not detected and treated swiftly, the parasite inflicts severe wounds and causes animal suffering. Though eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s, the screwworm has previously reemerged, most recently between 2016 and 2017 in Florida. Currently, it remains endemic in South America and the Caribbean, though human infections are rare and none have been reported in this outbreak.

For further coverage on health care policy impacts and significant developments, The Hill’s Health Care newsletter provides insights from Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi.

Essential Reads: Policy decisions influencing the health care sector this week and beyond include:

• The rejection of a fertility services coverage expansion provision for military families by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
• Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit against Alaska challenging the state’s telehealth abortion ban as a violation of constitutional rights.
• CDC’s acting director refuting claims that cuts to foreign aid under the Trump administration hampered global Ebola outbreak responses.

Around the Nation: Various local and state health care headlines focus on issues such as approved budget allocations for rural health programs, changes in Medicaid policies, and state-level health care provider appeals.

Health News Highlights: Additional health-related stories flagged from different outlets include medical billing challenges, performance enhancement discussions in sports, and President Trump’s reported engagements with numerous medical specialists.