(NewsNation) — Agriculture officials have discovered a second instance of New World screwworm about 5.6 miles from the first case in Texas.
The second case was found in a 1-month-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. The discovery comes days after the pest was found in a calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 50 miles from the Mexican border. Samples taken from the surrounding area have come back negative, officials said.
The New World screwworm is a fly that can lay eggs in body openings such as the eyes, ears, nose, mouth or genitals, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials said, adding that the eggs also can be laid in open wounds. The eggs then hatch into “parasitic maggots.” Those parasites burrow into and feed on living tissue.
Most infestations occur in animals, CDC officials said, but infestations also are possible in people.
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“The smell of a wound or body opening, such as the nose, mouth, eyes, ears or genitals, can attract female flies,” officials said. “Wounds as small as a tick bite may attract a female fly to lay her eggs.”
According to officials, a female can lay 200 to 300 eggs at a time and could lay up to 3,000 eggs during her lifespan, which ranges from 10 to 30 days.
“NWS can be particularly devastating to livestock health, with serious economic impacts,” officials said.
USDA officials say there is no threat of mass infestation or threat to the food supply. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the parasite does not spread through meat, poultry or dairy products. Officials urged people in the area to check animals for draining or enlarging wounds, maggots or egg masses, signs of discomfort or lesions in body openings.
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