USDA Rushes Experts to Texas Following Second Confirmed Screwworm Case

A Department of Agriculture strike team is on-site in Texas with veterinary medical officers and animal health technicians following the confirmation of a second case of New World screwworm in the state, the department announced.Among other measures, USDA says it has begun releasing millions of sterile screwworm flies in the affected areas with a goal of disrupting the parasitic pest’s reproductive cycle. The screwworm, last detected in American livestock six decades ago, “is a serious pest that threatens livestock, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, people,” USDA said in a Friday press release announcing the second case to be confirmed in the past week. “The larvae burrow into the living tissue of animals, causing severe wounds, animal suffering, and significant economic losses.”The second case was detected in a month-old calf less than 6 miles from where the first case was detected two days earlier, the department said. It stressed that the outbreak is not a threat to the American food supply, saying, “Screwworms do not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other food products.”While seldom dangerous to people, the creature poses a major threat to an American livestock industry that is already suffering from the smallest herd size in 75 years, in part because of a year-old ban on cattle imports from Mexico where the screwworm infestation has been spreading. Wildfires and drought have contributed to the problem, sending beef prices in America to record highs.In a further blow, Canada announced on Friday that cattle and other animals, including horses, will not be allowed into that country if they have been in Texas within the past 21 days.“While our colder climate is not hospitable for the long-term establishment of the fly in Canada, they can survive shorter periods of time in the summer months,” the Canadian Food Inspection Agency was quoted as saying. “Animal owners and veterinarians are encouraged to be on the lookout for signs of screwworm infestations in livestock. A wound that worsens over time and is accompanied by discharge or foul odour is also usually observed.”The USDA said it has been preparing for the possibility that the pest might reach America for the past year, during which it has deployed enhanced surveillance, strengthened its border defense strategy, and supported cross-border operations in Mexico and Central America.“Thanks to USDA’s phenomenal work and our cooperation with state, federal, and industry partners, we’ve held it off until now — when we are far more prepared to respond,” the department said. “We have defeated New World screwworm before, and we will do it again.”The department urges animal owners in the affected area to be on the alert for draining or enlarging wounds; maggots or egg masses; signs of discomfort; and lesions in body openings such as nose, ears, genitalia, and umbilical areas.Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, meanwhile, has expanded a statewide disaster declaration authorizing the use of “all available resources of state government to respond to this disaster.”The order reassigns all resources from across the state as needed and makes available all state personnel, including those from university systems, to speed the shipment of sterile flies into Texas and the construction of a sterile fly facility in South Texas, the Texas Tribune reported.“Here is the reality of this cycle,” Mr. Abbott was quoted as saying. “This is likely to spread over the course of the summer. During winter months, it may kill off the flies or reduce their number, but we can’t make it through a second summer.”USDA said its strategy of releasing sterile screwworm flies began on Thursday and will continue with the aerial dispersal of 2 million sterile flies twice a week. In addition, it said, “USDA is shipping another 4 million sterile flies per week to Texas. These will be deployed using 24 ground release chambers, strategically placed in and around the detection zone to maximize impact.”

USDA Rushes Experts to Texas Following Second Confirmed Screwworm Case

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