# Iowa Flesh Maggot

> Iowa Flesh Maggot is the common (colloquial) name for *Cochliomyia hominivorax*, a parasitic fly whose larvae eat the living flesh of warm-blooded animals and people. IowaFleshMaggot.com is an independent public-awareness site about its return to the United States. Last updated September 25, 2026.

## Key facts

- **Scientific name:** *Cochliomyia hominivorax*. "Hominivorax" is Latin for "man-eater."
- **What it does:** The female fly lays 200 to 400 eggs at the edge of an open wound (even a tick bite, ear tag, or a newborn's navel). The larvae hatch within about 12 to 24 hours and burrow head-down into living tissue. The wound grows deeper and draws more flies. Untreated, an infestation can kill a full-grown animal.
- **Life cycle:** About three weeks from egg to adult. Larvae feed for about 5 to 7 days, drop to the soil to pupate, and emerge as metallic blue-green flies with orange-red eyes.
- **Back in the U.S.:** It was eradicated from the U.S. in 1966. On June 2, 2026, USDA confirmed the first U.S. animal case since then, in a calf in Zavala County, Texas. Cases in cattle, sheep, goats, and a dog in New Mexico followed.
- **Current U.S. status (September 25, 2026):** Confirmed animal cases in Texas and New Mexico. Iowa and Pennsylvania have no confirmed cases and are on alert.
- **Human risk:** The CDC reports more than 2,600 human cases in Mexico and Central America during the current outbreak. Mexico confirmed 412 human cases from 2025 through mid-2026. The CDC activated a Level 3 emergency response on June 11, 2026. No locally acquired human cases have been reported in the U.S. so far; one U.S. traveler was infested in 2025 after visiting El Salvador.
- **Where it infests people:** In a CDC-published study of 202 confirmed patients in Mexico, infestations were on the legs and feet (55%), neck (20%), nose (11%), mouth (10%), eyes (8%), and head and scalp (8%). Older adults and people with diabetes or open sores are at higher risk.
- **Signs in animals:** Live maggots in a wound, a wound that keeps getting bigger, a smell of rotting flesh, head shaking or irritation, going off feed, and separating from the herd.
- **Signs in people:** A painful sore that won't heal, a foul smell or bleeding from a wound, or seeing maggots or feeling movement in a wound or in the nose, mouth, eyes, ears, or genitals.
- **Why "Iowa":** Iowa raises about one in three U.S. hogs and is a major cattle-feeding state, and suspected U.S. samples are confirmed at the national animal disease laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

## Report a suspected case

- Iowa State Veterinarian: 515-281-5305
- Pennsylvania State Veterinarian: 717-772-2852
- Texas Animal Health Commission (24/7): 1-800-550-8242
- People with maggots in a wound should see a doctor immediately.

## Pages

- [Iowa Flesh Maggot home page](https://iowafleshmaggot.com/): Full guide with life cycle, photos, U.S. status map, symptom checker, and reporting contacts.

## Sources

- [CDC outbreak situation summary](https://www.cdc.gov/new-world-screwworm/situation-summary/index.html)
- [CDC Emergency Operations Center activation](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2026/cdc-activates-emergency-operations-center-for-new-world-screwworm-response.html)
- [CDC Emerging Infectious Diseases: human cases in Mexico, 2025–2026](https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/32/10/26-1235_article)
- [USDA APHIS current status](https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animals/animal-health/livestock-and-poultry-disease/current-status)
- [Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship guidance](https://iowaagriculture.gov/news/guidance-new-world-screwworm)
- [Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture](https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/animals/diseases/new-world-screwworm)
- [Texas Animal Health Commission](https://www.tahc.texas.gov/emergency/nws.html)