Texas Launches Response Team to Combat Invasive Screwworm Threat

Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Animal Health Commission and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to establish a Texas New World Screwworm Response Team to combat the spread of the invasive, parasitic fly.

"The mission for the Response Team is clear: to lead Texas’ prevention and response efforts and ensure that Texas remains informed, prepared, and aligned to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite," Abbott said in a letter to the agencies.

The screwworm lays its larvae in open wounds on live animals, with maggots burrowing into flesh and causing potentially fatal damage. The response team will coordinate efforts among landowners, livestock producers, and researchers to prevent infections.

"Texans can be assured that staff have been actively preparing and training for a possible New World screwworm response for over a year," said Dr. Lewis R. 'Bud' Dinges, executive director of the animal health commission. "While we hope we don’t have to deal with the pest on our soil, joint efforts to mitigate damage and protect all commodities from NWS are ongoing."

Screwworm was eradicated from the U.S. in the 1960s but has recently spread into Mexico. The USDA suspended live animal imports from Mexico to protect Texas’ cattle industry, though imports will gradually resume next week.

The USDA is investing $21 million in a Mexican facility to produce sterile male flies, which mate with fertile females to produce nonviable eggs. An $8.5 million facility in Edinburg, announced last week, will help disperse sterile flies as part of a broader eradication plan.

U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz filed a bill directing the USDA to study screwworm outbreak strategies, while Sens. John Cornyn, Ted Cruz, and Ben Ray Luján proposed funding for sterile fly production.

"Combating the spread of the New World screwworm is critical to protecting the agriculture and livestock industry," Cornyn said. "I will continue the fight in Washington to increase our sterile fly production capacity."