[4restm]

I'm not sure why people are making a kerfuffle over this, entomologist have used this before to great effect. Cochliomya hominivorax, the primary screwworm fly, was eradicated from the US using very similar methods. Due to this, we do not have to worry about miasis or maggot infestations.

[nerdponx]

I mentioned this in another thread, but I think part of people's problem with diseases like malaria is that they don't connect it with any kind of visceral fear. The mechanism of death is a little vague -- you get fatigued, you get a fever, and then... you die? OK, I guess.

Rabies is terrifying; you devolve into madness and convulse to death. Botulism is terrifying; you become paralyzed and asphyxiate. Ebola makes you hemorrhage. Tuberculosis can literally destroy your lungs. Smallpox produces horrible painful lesions. Screwworm infestations are just kinda horrifying.

So people see malaria as something bad, but not something scary. Screwworm is scary to even consider, so people jump to agree that, yes, it should be eliminated, nature be damned. Malaria is scary too, but I suspect that it doesn't engender the same physical fear response in most people. Hence the debate about mosquitoes.