Texas livestock officials are tracking two separate pests this fall: a flesh-eating fly larva that has turned up in 51 Texas animals since June, and a tiny insect that is killing pasture grass across a widening part of the state.
Screwworm
A dog in Brewster County, confirmed Oct. 2, is the latest New World screwworm case, bringing the U.S. total since June to 53, according to Houston Public Media's tracker. Fifty-one have been in Texas and two in New Mexico. Three cases are considered active: the dog, goats in Crockett County and a horse in New Mexico.
Of the 53 cases, 52 involved domestic animals, and none has been confirmed in wildlife or feral animals.
Texas State Veterinarian Lewis Dinges told the House Agriculture and Livestock Committee on Friday that cases had been found in 19 counties, leading to 21 infested zones, Texas Scorecard reported. As of Oct. 1, more than 71,800 animals in those zones had been inspected, he said, and more than 1.39 billion sterile flies had been released in Texas since February.
The first wild screwworm fly of the outbreak was caught in a Brewster County trap in September.
Dinges said the pest will remain a threat "until the pest is eradicated from Mexico."
Screwworm larvae feed on living tissue in open wounds. Human cases are rare, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture does not consider screwworm a food safety threat. Officials advise owners to check wounds on pets and livestock, call a veterinarian if a wound worsens or contains larvae, and report suspected cases to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
