Texas has held off a major screwworm outbreak, but ranchers urged to stay alert
By Alexa Conroyonroy
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WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Texas has so far avoided a major New World screwworm outbreak, more than two months after the state confirmed its first case in decades.
Texas’ first case was confirmed June 3 in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County. Since then, state and federal officials have set up infested zones, restricted the movement of some animals, increased fly traps and wildlife surveillance, and released sterile flies to break the screwworm’s reproductive cycle.
That response has helped Texas avoid the rapid spread seen across Mexico, where nearly 28,000 cases have been detected since November 2024. As of early Tuesday morning, Texas had fewer than six active cases across South Texas.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension entomology specialist Dr. Sonja Swiger taught a screwworm lecture to local ranchers in West this summer. She said preventing the movement of infested animals was the most critical tool in containing the pest.
“Well, very important, uh, the most important thing we could do was prevent it, and that was to prevent the movement of animals that were infested. That was the easiest way to spread it,” Swiger said.
Cattle can move from ranches through auction barns and eventually to other parts of the state, making early detection important. Screwworm larvae feed on living tissue inside open wounds and can kill an animal quickly if left untreated.
West Livestock Auction owner Brian Uptmore said this is not Texas’ first experience dealing with the screwworm.
“It’s not an airborne virus or anything like that. You know, we controlled it back in the ’60s and ’70s, you know, wiped it out then. We could wipe it out again now. It was just gonna take maybe a little more hands-on management,” Uptmore said.
Ranchers are asked to continue monitoring their cattle carefully and to report any wounds or questions to the Texas AgriLife Extension in their county.
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