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3d ago

Texas Forms Screwworm Response Team as USDA Boosts Sterile Fly Production

This effort addresses the parasite’s northward spread from Central America through coordinated state agency action paired with expanded sterile fly production

A New World screwworm larvae sits at rest in this undated photo. The New World screwworm, eradicated in the United States in the 1960s, could again pose a threat to Texas livestock, the beef industry and the broader state economy. (USDA AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE VIA AP)
Cattle at a ranch in Cedar Creek on March 28, 2021.
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Overview

  • Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to establish the Texas New World Screwworm Response Team to lead prevention, response and public information efforts
  • The USDA suspended live animal imports from Mexico in May after screwworm detections on remote farms prompted cross-border containment measures
  • Federal funding is flowing into sterile insect technique initiatives, including an $8.5 million dispersal site at Moore Air Base and a $21 million retrofit of a Mexican fly production plant
  • A bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sens. John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Ben Ray Luján alongside Reps. Monica De La Cruz and Tony Gonzales, introduced bills to finance sterile fly facilities and outbreak studies
  • The parasite’s advance into southern Mexico since 2022 threatens Texas’ livestock industry and makes the border state the first line of defense against a potentially fatal infestation