Sixty years ago, the United States painstakingly “eradicated” the New World screwworm — a flesh-eating maggot that once decimated cattle herds across the South. The campaign saved livestock producers approximately $6 billion annually, accounting for inflation. Yet now, after brief outbreaks in Texas during the 1970s and the Florida Keys in 2016, the dangerous parasite has returned.
In June, federal officials confirmed the first Texas case of New World screwworm in decades. Since then, the number of confirmed cases has grown to more than 50. Left unchecked, the outbreak still threatens to kill livestock and wildlife, infect pets, and potentially even infect people.
Fortunately, scientists have far more tools to fight this outbreak than they did decades ago. The campaign that originally eradicated screwworm relied on what’s known as the sterile insect technique. Scientists raised massive numbers of screwworm flies, sterilized them with radiation, and released them into the wild. As sterile males mated with wild females, they slowed the parasite’s reproduction.
Today’s researchers are using genetic science to enhance that strategy. USDA scientists have developed an all-male strain of screwworm fly, enabling them to mass-produce sterile males in even greater numbers. Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, the same technology behind breakthrough treatments for sickle cell disease, scientists are also working to engineer sterile flies without relying on damaging radiation.
So far, these approaches are showing promise. But the screwworm outbreak highlights a broader concern. Animal diseases — from screwworm to bird flu, which has caused the deaths of more than 140 million birds in recent years — can emerge quickly and wreak enormous havoc, creating risks for human and animal health if not prepared for or contained properly.
Animal health and human health are deeply intertwined. Animals originate roughly three-quarters of the infectious diseases that affect people. Animal diseases also threaten our economy and food system, destroying more than 20% of global livestock production each year.
Yet while humans invest billions each year to protect ourselves from disease, less than 1% of global health spending goes toward animal health. That makes animal disease one of the most significant blind spots in our public health system.
Importantly, we don’t need to build entirely new tools to protect animal health. Just as genetic science is improving the fight against screwworm, other innovations developed for human health can also help animals — if we invest proactively in adapting them.
Consider messenger RNA technology — the basis for the first COVID vaccines, as well as several promising experimental treatments for genetic disorders and cancer. Animal health researchers are using related techniques to inoculate poultry against bird flu and cattle against foot-and-mouth disease.
The potential payoff is huge. Foot-and-mouth disease spreads rapidly among livestock and can force mass culling, movement restrictions, and trade disruptions. Preventing a major U.S. outbreak could avert hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses, according to some estimates.
Or consider the wearable devices that people use to track their heart rates, sleep, and other health indicators. Similar technologies for animals, such as AI-powered smart collars and ear tags, now allow farmers to monitor changes in livestock behavior that may reveal illness before obvious symptoms appear.
The insights generated from these technologies can give farmers more time to isolate and treat sick animals before diseases spread widely. One cattle producer quoted in the New York Times estimated that using smart collars had saved him nearly $1 million in cattle health costs.
Technologies like these have clear benefits for animals. But they are investments in human health, too. Better vaccines can keep outbreaks from destroying herds and flocks, protect food production, and reduce opportunities for pathogens to spread to people. Better monitoring tools can help farmers identify disease threats earlier and avoid expensive eradication campaigns.
The United States has spent decades developing new ways to detect, prevent, and treat human diseases. Yet we have invested far less in preventing animal diseases, despite the serious risks they can pose to human health and food security.
By investing intentionally in animal health and adapting more of the tools already developed for human medicine, we can strengthen our preparedness for diseases like these. We can identify threats sooner, contain outbreaks faster, and reduce the damage they cause — while ensuring historic problems like screwworm remain defeated.
Robert Kelly is senior vice president, Global Marketing & Operations, Merck Animal Health
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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