Samples from a suspected flesh-eating screwworm infestation on a Texas cattle farm have been sent to a federal lab for testing, rattling cattle markets as traders brace for potential livestock movement restrictions.
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Screwworm scare in Texas cattle rattles markets, 8 Mexico cases found
Samples from a suspected infestation of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite on a cattle farm in La Pryor, Texas, have been sent to a federal lab in Iowa for testing, Texas Representative Don McLaughlin said Wednesday. The unconfirmed case is rattling cattle markets as traders brace for potential livestock movement restrictions.
"The New World screwworm crisis farmers and ranchers experienced back then will not repeat itself today," Brooke Rollins, US Department of Agriculture secretary, said on a June 1 media call. "Unlike then, USDA is leading a robust, detailed and technologically advanced response."
Mexico has reported eight New World screwworm detections, including one in Coahuila just 25 miles from the US-Mexico border — the closest the parasite has come to American soil since its eradication in the 1960s. Over 58,000 suspicious flies have been submitted for official identification, with none confirmed as screwworms, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
If confirmed, the La Pryor case would mark the first US outbreak of the parasitic fly in more than six decades. The USDA has closed US-Mexico livestock ports and is building a $750 million sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in South Texas, capable of producing up to 300 million sterile flies per week. The agency has also invested $21 million to convert an existing facility in Metapa, Mexico, into a sterile fly dispersal center.
The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals. Infestations begin when a female fly lays eggs on a wound or body opening; larvae burrow into the tissue and drop to the ground after about seven days to pupate. The adult fly emerges 7 to 54 days later.
USDA has set up a dedicated email address — screwworm@usda.gov — and a website at screwworm.gov for the public to report suspected cases and access updates.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
[1] Unconfirmed US case of flesh-eating screwworm rattles cattle markets, traders say[2] New World screwworm threat continues as USDA, Texas tries to stop it[3] Samples from Texas calves tested for possible screwworm, rattling markets[4] Unconfirmed U.S. Case of Flesh-Eating Screwworm Rattles Cattle Markets, Traders Say - Successful Farming
