Texas takes serious action against menacing parasite endangering livestock
Texas Launches Comprehensive Strategy to Combat New World Screwworm Threat
Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller, is taking a proactive approach to protect the state's livestock and wildlife from the resurgence of the New World screwworm. The new strategy, dubbed the TDA Swormlure fly trap, is designed to eradicate the pest more efficiently than previous strategies.
The TDA Swormlure fly trap, a powerful tool that can kill up to 90% of screwworm flies on contact, is a key component of the strategy. Commissioner Miller is also backing federal actions, such as the USDA's investment of $750 million to build a Domestic Sterile Screwworm Production Facility in Edinburg, Texas. This facility will breed hundreds of millions of sterile screwworm flies to suppress reproduction and stop the pest's northward spread.
In addition to these measures, the strategy includes the use of Ivermectin feed additives and a cattle vaccine, as well as the chemical bait that attracts and kills the larvae of the New World screwworm. These tools, combined with enhanced surveillance and animal health response plans, form a comprehensive approach to protect Texas's livestock industry, valued at $30 billion, from this threat.
The New World screwworm, a flesh-eating maggot, primarily affects mammals, with a focus on livestock and wildlife. Currently contained in southern Mexico, the pest's resurgence in Mexico poses a threat to Texas's wildlife industry. To prevent the New World screwworm from reaching America, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has restricted the importation of cattle and wildlife from south of the border.
Commissioner Miller is confident that the new tools will help prevent and eradicate the New World screwworm more efficiently than the sterile flies used in the 1960s. Unlike the strategy from that era, the new strategy does not involve the use of sterile flies. Instead, it focuses on a combination of local, state, and federal efforts to combat the pest.
Miller is urging swift action to introduce the fly bait rapidly and stop the New World screwworm from spreading further. The goal is to stop the pest at the current border and push it back into Central America. With the comprehensive approach outlined in this new strategy, Texas is taking a significant step towards protecting its livestock and wildlife from the New World screwworm.
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