The threat of the New World Screwworm (NWS) is nearing the Texas border with Mexico. As Texas Public Radio reports, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said last week that a recent case of New World Screwworm was detected about 90 miles from the border in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon. Miller said this week that a new case, also in Nuevo Leon, was reported 60 miles from the border. The flesh-eating screwworm fly larvae poses a grave threat to the livestock industry. Miller says this newest detection falls within the current sterile fly dispersal zone. Federal and state officials broke ground last week, April 17, on a sterile fly facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to construct the facility. The construction is a key component of a five-pronged strategy (PDF, 1005 KB) to combat the screwworm in South Texas.
New World Screwworm Moving Dangerously Close to Texas Border
