# The flesh-eating worms devouring cows

> A screwworm outbreak has spread across Central America, with Panama recording over 19,700 cases so far in 2024 against fewer than 100 in a normal year. The parasite has returned to herds that had been free of it for decades.

- Date: 2024-10-24 · published 2024-10-24T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: disease · region Central America · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/27811-the-flesh-eating-worms-devouring-cows
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Livestock losses and treatment costs in Central America, and the risk of northward spread toward the US, could tighten beef and cattle supplies over time.

## Read by commodity

- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2017-01-15 | [Flesh-Eating Screwworms Reach Florida's Mainland  - The Atlantic](https://feedsoft.ai/events/72945-flesh-eating-screwworms-reach-florida-s-mainland-the-atlantic.md) | +1.2% | -0.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-01-01 | [Flesh-eating worm in Mexico is upending cross-border cattle trade](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21453-flesh-eating-worm-in-mexico-is-upending-cross-border-cattle-trade.md) | +1.2% | +1.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-08-15 | [In Texas cattle country, ranchers brace for flesh-eating screwworms \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23280-in-texas-cattle-country-ranchers-brace-for-flesh-eating-screwworms-reuters.md) | +1.1% | -0.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-08-15 | [USDA to build Texas facility to fight flesh-eating screwworms \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23282-usda-to-build-texas-facility-to-fight-flesh-eating-screwworms-reuters.md) | +1.1% | -0.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-06-02 | [How flesh-eating screwworms in cattle could raise US beef prices \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24157-how-flesh-eating-screwworms-in-cattle-could-raise-us-beef-prices-reuters.md) | +3.1% | +3.0% |

## Sources

- archive.is: https://archive.is/xrOha

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.