New World Screwworm Closing the Gap to the Border

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced in April that the New World Screwworm (NWS) is closer to the Texas border than ever before in this latest outbreak. On April 20 Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warned, “The threat of the New World screwworm is creeping dangerously close to our border. A confirmed case in Nuevo León, just about 60 miles from the United States, in a young calf is a flashing red warning sign we will not ignore.”

Only three days before he made that statement, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the USDA broke ground on a $750 million sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Force Base in Edinburg, Texas. “This puts NWS sterile fly production in American hands, so we do not have to rely on other countries for the best offensive measure to push screwworm away from our borders,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins. “The New World Screwworm threatens the health of our herds, the stability of rural economies, and the resilience of our supply chain. President Trump and his entire cabinet is committed to leveraging every resource necessary to contain this pest, protect American agriculture, and ensure the long-term security of our food supply chain.”

In February a sterile fly dispersal facility was completed at the same location. “America is going to take care of ourselves, including dealing with the approach of screwworm as it gets closer to our border,” said Texas Greg Gov. Abbott. “We put together the resources necessary for Texas to provide a Texas-size response to this. We thank Secretary Rollins and President Trump for stepping forward to provide the stop gap effort essential to protecting our ranchers and our wildlife.”

The perils of the insect’s flesh-eating maggots are not limited to livestock. During their massive border crossing during ’50s and ’60s the Lone Star State’s whitetail deer population declined by roughly 50 percent.

They lay their eggs in living flesh, which makes all warm-blooded animals a potential target. The USDA’s tips for hunters explains, “Deer and other species are vulnerable to NWS infestation, which can reduce the number of fawns that survive and grow into adults. Untreated infested animals will die, leading to smaller herds, fewer tags, and more restrictive seasons.”