AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott issued an updated disaster declaration for the New World screwworm after the first case was confirmed in Texas earlier this week.

Abbott signed the declaration during a news conference on Friday, saying that he would use all available resources and divert any necessary resources to address the issue.

All the state and federal officials present at the news conference reiterated that the New World screwworm is not a food safety issue, but it is a food production issue that could hurt the state’s multi-billion dollar cattle industry.

The New World screwworm case was confirmed in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, which an official with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) said on Friday is “doing well” and the infected wound is “healing nicely.”

The official also said that no other additional cows in the herd have been infected so far. 

TAHC has established an infested zone to prevent the further spread of the fly, which includes portions of Zavala and Uvalde counties. The original infected calf is about 50 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and 100 miles from San Antonio.

Female New World screwworm parasitic flies lay eggs in open wounds in warm-blooded animals. Those eggs hatch into larvae, maggots, which feed on the living tissue of the infected animal.

It was previously considered eradicated from North America after a program dispersed sterile male screwworm flies into the population. A similar breeding program is being revived by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A USDA official at the news conference said that current production of the sterile flies is being done from a facility in Panama. Another facility in southern Mexico is being converted from a fruit-fly breeding facility and is expected to come online by the end of the month, the official said. The USDA is also spending $750 million to build a factory in South Texas, which is expected to open in November 2027.

Officials gave a list of things Texans can do to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm:

Check your animals daily
Treat wounds promptly
Report any suspensions of New World screwworm in your pets and livestock to TAHC
Report any suspensions of New World screwworm in wildlife to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Do not move any animals suspected of having New World screwworm