Pierce Ping Huang

Wednesday marks 210 days since the last CDC director was fired.

According to the Federal Vacancies Act, that's the limit for how long the role can be filled in an acting capacity by temps.

The Vacancies Act is intended to prevent a president from circumventing the Senate confirmation process.

Starting Thursday, the CDC's interim leader, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, will no longer be the official acting director, but at a CDC all-staff meeting, he said he would continue acting in the capacity as director.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services says Bhattacharya will continue to perform the delegable duties of the CDC director, while the health secretary evaluates candidates for the permanent CDC role.

Ping Huang, NPR News.

It's called New World Screwworm, and it's a fly whose babies feed on live tissue.

The CDC has issued a health advisory noting that the parasite, which is typically found in South America and the Caribbean...

has moved up to northern Mexico.

So far, there are no cases in the U.S., and the risk to the public remains low.

But the outbreak, which started in Central America in 2023, has spread to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas.

In this outbreak, more than 1,000 people have gotten screwworm, and seven have died.

It used to be a big problem in the U.S., devastating to livestock, until it was eradicated in the 1960s by releasing sterile flies to stop the flies from reproducing.

That strategy was used again in 2017 to end a small outbreak among deer in the Florida Keys.

Ping Huang, NPR News.