FLORIDA — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said an animal tested positive for screwworm flies in Florida.
The USDA said New World Screwworm (NWS) files were found on a horse being imported from Argentina.
The horse was presented for a routine inspection at an equine import facility in Florida. The USDA said inspectors saw an open wound with larvae on the animal. Samples were collected and shipped to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Iowa, and on Jan. 30, the lab confirmed the larvae were New World Screwworm larvae.
USDA said the horse was immediately treated with medication to kill any larvae.
The New World Screwworm can cause serious, often deadly damage to animals, the USDA said. It was eradicated in the US decades ago, but an outbreak in Mexico has prompted increased surveillance along the US border.
The USDA said it has inspected more than 9,300 wild animals across 39 species and 131 U.S. counties and found no signs of NWS infestations.
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