Xalapa pet worm infestation threatens stray animals

Animal protectors in Xalapa, Veracruz, have reported a sharp increase in cases of myiasis caused by the screwworm fly in stray dogs and cats. Open wounds on the animals serve as entry points for the larvae, which feed on living tissue and can cause fatal damage within hours.

The group, led by activist Ada Azul Benzón, documented several severe incidents, including a dog with a head wound inflicted by a machete, another with injuries near the Technological Institute of Xalapa, and a third abandoned canine whose jaw wound led to a fatal infection. Benzón warned that "a small wound can become a very serious problem. The larvae do not eat dead tissue, but living tissue, so the damage can be devastating in a short time."

Veterinarians stress that treatment requires sedation, manual or assisted removal of the larvae, and antiparasitic medication, and that owners should not attempt extraction themselves.