FDA Alert: New World Screwworm in Dogs and Cats - The 30-Second Error
The FDA has just issued an emergency use authorization for drugs to prevent and treat New World screwworm in dogs and cats. That sounds like a cattle disease, and it is - but the part that matters to you is that the parasite does not stay in cattle. If you own a dog or a cat that spends time in fields, on farms or on rural land, this is the alert to read twice. Here is the thing about this parasite: it is not the bite or the sting that does the damage. It is a small larva that travels into the eye - and by the time the eye looks wrong, the window for simple treatment has usually closed. So the whole game is about 30 seconds of attention that most owners skip. What New World Screwworm Actually Is New World screwworm ( Oestrus ovis ) is a warble fly that lays eggs near grazing animals. When a host animal brushes against the eggs, the larvae hatch and migrate - and the migration can end in the orbit of the eye, where they cause intense inflammation. Dogs and cats are not the nor...