NIOSH Fact Sheets Help Employers, Workers Prevent New World Screwworm
New fact sheets developed by NIOSH provide information about New World screwworm, a species of parasitic fly that lays eggs in open wounds or other body openings on animals and people. When the flies’ eggs hatch, the maggots burrow into and feed on living tissue and flesh, CDC explains. NIOSH’s fact sheets caution that these flies can lay eggs in wounds as small as bug bites and that New World screwworm “causes severe wounds and can be deadly if it’s not treated.”
The first animal case in the current outbreak in the United States was confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a three-week-old bovine on June 3 in Zavala County, Texas. USDA stresses that New World screwworm causes “serious damage to livestock and economic losses.” According to CDC, the parasite is typically found in South America and parts of the Caribbean but has been making its way north in recent years.
NIOSH tailored four of its fact sheets for agriculture producers and workers, employers in outdoor settings, and outdoor workers. Agriculture producers, farm owners, and employers can help keep workers and farms safe and healthy by training employees to recognize the signs of New World screwworm, helping them protect their skin and prevent bug bites, and encouraging them to promptly report any sign of maggots. Employers should provide first aid supplies for workers to cover any breaks in the skin as well as EPA-registered insect repellent for application and reapplication. NIOSH notes that employers should also have a plan in place so that workers understand what to do if they encounter maggots in people or animals and know where they can receive urgent medical care to prevent the spread of New World screwworm.
One way that agriculture producers try to control New World screwworm flies or maggots is to use insecticides on their animals. Such insecticides include organophosphates, which NIOSH explains can harm workers even at low levels of exposure. Workers may be exposed to insecticides through skin contact, inhalation, or ingestion, and take-home exposures present additional concerns for workers’ family members. Two more fact sheets from NIOSH are intended to help agriculture producers protect workers from insecticide poisoning (PDF) and help workers use insecticides safely (PDF). The fact sheets cover topics such as insecticide selection, ways to reduce worker exposure, use of personal protective equipment, decontamination, and monitoring workers’ health.
For more information about New World screwworm in the U.S., visit the website of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.