The New World screwworm has been detected in South Texas for the first time in decades, prompting state officials and livestock producers to increase monitoring efforts and warn residents about the potential risks to animals.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the infected animal was a three-week-old calf in Zavala County near La Pryor. The detection marks the pest’s return to the United States after roughly 60 years.
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The case has heightened concerns across Texas’ agricultural industry, as the New World screwworm was largely eradicated from North America following widespread outbreaks during the 1960s and 1970s.
Scott Frazier, a longtime rancher, remembers the last time the pest threatened the livestock industry.
“I remember as a little kid I was pretty small when they pretty well eradicated it the first time, but I do remember there was a very distinct odor or whatever those animals that sort of I guess rotting flesh, it’s pretty nasty,” Frazier said.
Now, Frazier is closely monitoring his cattle and evaluating ways to protect them from infestation.
“Other than some of the really older ranchers around, most of us haven’t ever seen it or dealt with it,” Frazier said.
Last time, officials used sterile flies to help eliminate the pest by interrupting its reproductive cycle.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warned that the impact of a screwworm outbreak could extend beyond ranches and livestock operations.
“$30 billion plus dollar livestock industry, but it doesn’t stop there. People need to realize that most of the cases that we’re finding are in dogs. They’re in cats, they’re in your pets,” Miller said. “Just a simple tick bite on a dog or a cat, you can have a screwworm infestation, so you need to check your pets.”
As ranchers prepare for the possibility of additional cases, local experts are adapting technology to improve surveillance efforts.
“We’re taking some technology that’s off the shelf,” said Dr. Robert Wells at the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. “They wear a collar that looks like basically an overgrown necklace for a human, that has like a pendant on it, and the pendant has a battery. And it sends a cue, just like a virtual fence that a homeowner might use to contain their dogs.”
Frazier said keeping a close watch on livestock is critical, though it can be difficult when cattle are spread across large or remote pastures.
He also worries about the potential impact on an industry already facing reduced herd numbers.
“Our cattle numbers around the whole country, in Texas, are low. This could drive them even lower if we have to liquidate some pastures and have some death loss and that sort of thing,” Frazier said.
The Texas Department of State Health Services recently issued a list of precautions related to the New World screwworm.
Meanwhile, the Texas Animal Health Commission is scheduled to host a public meeting on prevention and protection efforts at 10 a.m. June 5 at the Jim Hogg County Fair Pavilion in Hebbronville.