EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — After the first U.S. case of New World Screwworm was detected in Texas, officials from the Texas Animal Health Commission are urging animal owners to keep an eye out for the pest as actions are being taken to prevent the spread.
On Wednesday, TAHC confirmed that a 3-week-old calf with an umbilical wound in Zavala County tested positive for the pest after a sample was taken and analyzed by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.
RELATED: Officials: First New World screwworm detection in Texas confirmed; no other cases yet
The TAHC stated it is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other state officials to handle the infection.
Speaking with KFOX14/CBS4, TAHC Spokesperson Erin Robinson said teams are going door-to-door, talking to animal owners, letting them know what to watch out for as they monitor their animals for signs of infestation.
“Right now, Texas Animal Health Commission staff are deployed in the Zavala County area conducting fly surveillance and animal surveillance,” Robinson said, adding that TAHC teams are going “door-to-door conducting outreach so that folks know what to look for.”
Robinson said one of the most important steps for animal owners is frequent monitoring, especially of wounds.
Robinson explained the fly is attracted to open wounds and lays eggs that hatch into larvae that infest the wound.
As a result, Robinson is urging animal owners to treat wounds quickly to prevent an infection in their animals.
“If those wounds have anything suspicious in or around them, it is so important to quickly report to the Texas Animal Health Commission or your private veterinarian,” Robinson said. “We need to make sure that we identify this very quickly so that we can respond quickly and stop the spread of this pest.”
Robinson said the state is working closely with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fight the spread using the “sterile insect technique.”
Robinson explained that since the New World Screwworm flies only mate once in their lives, if they mate with a sterile fly, larvae won’t hatch.
Robinson said more sterile flies are needed and that a facility is being built at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, which she said “will eventually create more sterile flies for us to effectively eradicate this pest.”
Robinson said the TAHC issued an executive director order on Wednesday to establish an infested zone around the affected area.
“In that infested zone, there is a stop movement order in place,” Robinson said. “That means there are no animal movements, no warm-blooded animal movements going to be allowed out of this zone without a permit or an animal movement certificate from the Texas Animal Health Commission.”
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the zone is a 20-kilometer area around where the infested calf was detected.
Even though the New World Screwworm primarily infests livestock, it can also affect wildlife, pets, birds and other warm-blooded species.
“There is potential for really big impacts if this does turn into a large infestation,” Robinson said.
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