10 Of The Most Unbelievable Stories Of Diseases That Will Eat Your Flesh

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Last Updated on January 7, 2021

#8 – Diseased Deer

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Screwworms are flesh-eating flies that came back to haunt the Florida Keys after 30 years of eradication and threaten the survival of endangered deer whose population is between 1300 and 1500. Unfortunately, The uncurable infection left us with no other choice but euthanize about 102 animals. So, you can imagine how threatening this could be to this species.

Screwworms attack cracked and broken skin. They put their eggs on the damaged area of the skin, and their maggots start to feed on living flesh. For this reason, bucks, the males of deer are more prone to develop the infection.

Usually, they are all the times suffering from the broken skin as a result of fighting over their females and protecting them. So, it is definitely not surprising to know that all reported cases are bucks except seven.

To fight this deadly infection and protect the richness of the wildlife, federal officials adopted a strategy of sterilizing the male flies which was really effective and successful leading to the eradication of the disease.

Biologists and volunteers have participated in this by feeding deer food laced with doramectin which is a powerful anti-parasitic drug.