The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday announced a suspected case of New World screwworm (NWS) detected in South Texas.

“The sample is now at USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa for confirmatory testing. We will provide updates the moment results are available,” USDA stated.

“We have already activated personnel on the ground and are working with local partners. What you can expect from us is transparency, candor, and most important — action,” it added.

Reuters shared further:

Widespread market chatter about the ⁠suspected case hung over cattle futures, which traders said have long been sensitive to threats of New World screwworm. The ​parasite has been moving north through Mexico for more than a year. Market players believe a screwworm infestation in the U.S. ​could reduce demand for beef from consumers nervous about the flesh-eating pest, but would be bullish in the long term by reducing the U.S. cattle supply.

A photo seen by Reuters, which McLaughlin said was one of those he also saw, shows multiple larvae resembling the screwworm inside a ​bloody circular wound on an animal. McLaughlin said one of the suspected infestations was detected in an umbilical cord wound ​of a calf, though it was unclear if that was the case seen in the photo. Reuters could not immediately verify the photo.

ADVERTISEMENT

“At this ‌point, ⁠it’s unconfirmed that it’s the New World screwworm,” McLaughlin, a Republican, said. “It looks like it, but it’s unconfirmed.”

The Texas Animal Health Commission told Reuters on Wednesday there has been no confirmed case of New World screwworm in Texas.

Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds of any warm-blooded animal. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm ​larvae use their sharp mouths to ​burrow through living flesh, ⁠eventually killing their host if left untreated. An outbreak of screwworm in the U.S. could cause $1.8 billion in damage to Texas’ economy alone and would likely raise U.S. beef prices by shrinking ​the U.S. cattle supply, experts have said.

“All jokes aside this is a serious matter and a time to unite and work together. If this case is confirmed I will stand lock step with every local, state and federal agency to work together and fight this horror,” said McLaughlin, a state representative.

“As we gather more information and work with different agencies we will keep South Texas informed and protected. Thank you for keeping us updated and helping sound the alarm. South Texas is stronger when we all work together,” he added.

USA TODAY has more:

A Republican Texas state lawmaker on June 1 said there was a reported detection as close as a mile from the southern border, though the USDA said this was untrue and would provide updates on confirmed nearby cases.

Regardless, USDA data show detections have only moved closer in recent months.

“It does significantly raise the urgency and perhaps may lead to an increase in resources in order to accelerate the deployment of plans” to prevent screwworm from crossing the border, Dr. Michael Payne, a cattle disease expert at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, told USA TODAY.

The USDA didn’t respond to a request for comment.

ADVERTISEMENT

The USDA has said New World screwworm is not in the United States. Officials have previously said there’s no current risk to people, livestock, or pets in the country.

Texas Rep. Don McLaughlin, the Republican lawmaker who recently announced that there was a detection a mile from the border, said the threat of screwworm is no longer a distant possibility.

“It is at our doorstep,” McLaughlin said in a June 1 statement. “Texas cannot afford to wait until the New World screwworm crosses the border and begins devastating our livestock and wildlife populations.”

In a statement to USA TODAY, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said it was “just a matter of time” before the parasite impacts Texas directly. He urged deploying all available means to combat screwworm, adding, “this threat won’t wait.”

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.