Texas companies are ganging up on a nasty, dangerous worm. In line with a launch, the Texas Animal Well being Fee and Texas Parks and Wildlife Division will crew as much as fight the New World screwworm (NWS) previous to its arrival in Texas, following a directive from Governor Greg Abbott.
Abbott issued a letter warning that the unfold of the New World screwworm from Central America into southern Mexico poses “a severe menace to Texas livestock and wildlife” and directed the 2 companies to type a Texas New World Screwworm Response Crew with a mission to forestall the reemergence of this damaging parasite.
“Texas performed a vital position in eradicating this pest from the US within the Sixties and can accomplish that once more if the necessity arises,” Abbott stated in his directive.
They’re known as screwworms as a result of they screw into the flesh, worsening accidents and inflicting a painful situation known as NWS myiasis. Flies lay eggs in open wounds or orifices reminiscent of nostrils, eyes, or mouth. These eggs hatch into parasitic larvae. The maggots burrow or screw into flesh with sharp mouth hooks. Wounds can grow to be bigger, and an infestation can typically trigger severe harm or demise.
After feeding, larvae drop to the bottom, burrow into the soil, and emerge as grownup NWS flies. Grownup NWS flies can fly lengthy distances, and the motion of infested livestock or wildlife can improve the speed of unfold.
NWS primarily infests livestock however may also have an effect on people and wildlife, together with deer and birds.
The parasite was final eradicated from the U.S. in 1966, with expensive efforts by federal and state animal well being officers, livestock producers, and veterinary practitioners. Eradication efforts have continued in Central America, however the pest is widespread in Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, and South American international locations.
In 2022, NWS broke by a longtime eradication border in Panama and commenced spreading north by Central America. NWS reached the southern states of Mexico in November 2024 and has continued to unfold in a number of Mexican states as far north as Oaxaca. Resulting from Texas’ huge border with Mexico, intensive animal agriculture trade, and plentiful wildlife, the danger of NWS reemergence in Texas remains to be of sturdy concern.
