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After digging deep lesions with their powerful maggot jaws, anchoring themselves inside them with their external spikes, screwworm larvae feed on the living flesh, working their way to deeper tissues like the muscles.

A scan taken in August showed a lesion in the bowel.

Removing a small part of the brain can be a safe and effective way of stopping them - but if radiologists cannot see the tiny lesions on brain scans, diagnosis, treatment and surgery can be delayed.

Ibotenic acid can be dangerous, as it’s linked to brain lesions akin to Alzheimer’s and may explain some of the more negative side effects of these fungi.

California wildlife officials also recently reported that the state’s southernmost wolf pack in Tulare County is suffering from sarcoptic mange, a disease caused by parasitic mites that can cause itchy skin lesions and hair loss.