MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — The USDA confirmed New World screwworm in Texas for the first time since 1966. Here's what pet owners and livestock producers need to know..
- The USDA confirmed the first detection of New World screwworm in Texas since 1966.
- New World screwworm is a parasitic larval fly attracted to open wounds on animals, with cattle considered the highest risk due to herd travel patterns.
- The USDA says the food supply is not compromised and is working to eradicate the fly by releasing sterile flies into targeted areas.
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The USDA has confirmed the first detection of New World screwworm in Texas since 1966, raising concerns among veterinarians and livestock owners across the state.
Dr. Jeremy Echols, a vet at Equine Hospital, explained how the parasite works.
"Screw worms are a parasitic or larval form of a fly that is attracted to any kind of wounds that an animal could have, all of the mammals that are living outdoors and could potentially have some, the flies are gonna need a small open wound. It could even be a nick in the skin in order to be able to deposit it. You can't just, the fly can't just come and lay the larvae on normal protected skin with the normal epithelial layer" Echols said.
The CDC reports more than 2,000 human cases of screwworm in Central America and Mexico, but Echols said animals face the greatest risk.
Cattle are a particular concern. Because they travel in herds, the parasite can spread quickly, creating both an animal health and economic impact.
"Since we use the hides of cattle, and those are, uh, those problems with anything that can cause damage to the hide can cause an economic impact and what the hide is, uh, is valuable for. If you're gonna try and make leather goods out of hides, they can't have just random holes all in them or they, they could, but it'll be, it'll downgrade their value," Echols said.
The USDA has stated the food supply is not compromised,
"The food supply is not compromised at all. This is not a disease. It is not a virus. It is simply an insect that lands in a wound and lays eggs that like to eat the flesh around the wound," said, USDA Secretary of Agriculture Brook L. Rollins
At a press conference, officials said they are working to eradicate the fly by releasing sterile flies into targeted areas.
"we've expedited the targeted release of millions of sterile New World screwworm flies by immediately deploying 4 million as of yesterday ground release chambers in the area, in addition to the 4 million sterile flies per week already being released aerially in the area" said Rollins.
"And then once those sterilized flies are turned into the population, then pretty soon you'll have no more flies because they, they genetically are engineered to where they can't reproduce," Echols said.
The USDA also said it has increased trained detection at the border.
"We trained more dogs, our USDA Beagle Brigade, so we're going to have a lot more dogs that obviously won't apply to cattle, but for companion animals and others that are coming across the border, uh, we now have dogs trained to sniff for any screwworm in those companion animals" said, USDA Secretary of Agriculture Brook L. Rollins
For pet owners, Echols recommends a flea and tick preventative administered by a vet. For cattle, he recommends ivermectin. Echols also said it is possible a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection could be issued to prevent the spread of screwworm through the transport of animals across state lines.
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