COLLEGE STATION, Texas (RFD-TV) — Researchers at Texas A&M University are launching one of the largest genetic studies of New World screwworm in an effort to find new ways to track and control the parasite.
The university has received approximately $4 million in USDA funding for the two-year project, which will examine the genetic makeup of thousands of screwworms collected during the outbreak in Honduras.
Scientists hope to identify signs of resistance to existing treatments and develop tools to trace future outbreaks. Researchers say the findings could also lead to new methods of controlling the parasite.
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