Texas is joining with several partners to tackle a threat that's been growing since would-be illegal migrants began heading for the southern US border nearly four years ago.
The New World Screw Worm was slowly eradicated from the United States, Mexico, and Central America back in the 1980s, when decades of coordinated US efforts pushed the parasitical disease south to Panama, where it was constrained for many years.
"This does trace back to the last administration, the Biden years, and the open border policy and the movement of millions of people and their animals up through South America -- and 2022 was when the biological barrier in Central America was breached," US Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, a native Texan, said on Monday at a news conference.
"And by the end of the last administration, the pest had reached into Mexico and was headed toward the United States."
Ms. Rollins says the US began immediately making plans, once the Trump administration was returned to office last year, to try several means to stop the New World Screw Worm on its way up from Mexico, strengthening the border oversight and increasing the containment efforts in Mexico.
She joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott to outline steps Texas will take over the next year to bring an end to the parasite's growth in the state, the number of cases now having grown to 3 over the past few weeks.
"Sterile flies are the well-established solution to the spread of the New World screwworm," said Governor Abbott.
"The USDA is importing and dispersing those flies across South Texas and will recalibrate to deploy those sterile flies wherever needed. Texas is resilient. It is critical to stay vigilant and stay informed."
Governor Abbott also outlined much of the state's response to the parasite's movement into the state, including:
- Directing state agencies to establish the joint Texas New World screwworm Response Team, which brought together livestock producers, veterinarians, wildlife experts, and federal partners to prepare in advance.
- Issuing a statewide disaster declaration to mobilize resources and strengthen Texas’ prevention and response efforts before a single case was detected.
- Issuing a disaster declaration to deploy all available state resources to respond to this threat and prioritize resources to Uvalde and Zavala counties.
- Directing the Texas Division of Emergency Management to activate the Texas State Emergency Operations Center to Level II (Escalated Response) to support the state’s New World screwworm response.
Texans are urged to report any suspected New World screwworm cases in livestock to the TAHC at 1-800-550-8242 and report suspected wildlife cases to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) at (512) 389-4505.