screwworm

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture instated additional state entry requirements for animals on Wednesday following detections of New World screwworm — a flesh eating parasite — in Texas and New Mexico.

The pest, which has advanced rapidly through Mexico after being mainly contained in Central America for several decades, is named for the maggot’s behavior of feeding on live tissue.

States are bracing for a potential invasion of the New World screwworm that could disrupt livestock markets and raise already high meat prices.