In response to this infestation, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam declared an agricultural state of emergency in Monroe County as of early October. This is the first local infestation in the U.S. in more than 30 years.

“The screwworm is a potentially devastating animal disease that sends shivers down every rancher’s spine. It’s been more than five decades since the screwworm last infested Florida, and I’ve grown up hearing the horror stories from the last occurrence,” Putnam said.

“This foreign animal disease poses a grave threat to wildlife, livestock and domestic pets in Florida. Though rare, it can even infect humans. We’ve eradicated this from Florida before, and we’ll do it again.”

Animal health and wildlife officials at the state and federal levels are working jointly to address these findings. Response efforts will include fly trapping to determine the extent of the infestation, release of sterile flies to eliminate the screwworm fly population and disease surveillance to look for additional cases in animals.

The initial goal will be to keep the infestation from spreading to new areas while eradicating the New World screwworm flies from the affected Keys.  

—Compiled from a Florida Department of Agriculture news release