screwworm makes a surprise comeback, and the internet's reaction is anything but swarming
In a plot twist that has entomologists scratching their heads and social media users gagging in unison, the New World screwworm—a flesh-eating parasite that was supposedly eradicated from North America in the 1970s—has been detected in a small herd of livestock in southern Florida. But it's not the medical alert that's gone viral. It's the online response. Memes of the worm’s gross-out factor are being repurposed as metaphors for everything from ex-boyfriends who won't leave you alone to that one co-worker who keeps showing up to meetings uninvited. Meanwhile, the more morbid corners of the internet are enjoying the irony that the bug's scientific name, *Cochliomyia hominivorax*, literally translates to "man devourer." The official CDC warning to check your pets is being overshadowed by a flood of "this is fine" dog-in-a-burning-room memes, as Gen Z declares the screwworm the unofficial mascot of 2025’s growing list of resurgent problems.