USDA has reported the first cases of New World Screwworm in July on Screwworm.Gov– both were sheep infestations in Crockett County, which is about 85 miles from the international border and the Rio Grande River. The County now has the most NWS cases of any county in the state- eight.
The latest cases posted on July first on the USDA website make 31 the total number found in the US since case one was discovered June third. Ten cases have been declared inactive or resolved with 21 cases considered to be active. The active case that continues to be closest to the Oklahoma State Line (the Red River) is the one reported in Tom Green County near San Angelo on June 11th, which was a calf.
Active animalcases are those that involve ongoing disease mitigation efforts on the individual animal until it is free of NWS myiasis, including treatment and wound management of the infested animal.
Inactive animal cases refer to situations where mitigation activities are no longer required on that animal. Either the animal has fully recovered, with myiasis resolved and treatment completed, or appropriate measures have been taken to prevent the spread of NWS, such as appropriate carcass management of a deceased infested animal.
USDA’s APHIS continues to place sterile flies in north Mexico and south Texas- concentrating on the counties where the active cases are The sterile insect release area, or polygon, is adjusted as needed to maintain broad suppression and help prevent the pest from spreading to new areas.
According to the Texas Animal Health Commission- There is currently a quarantine in place due to an established New World Screwworm Infested Zone in parts of the following Texas counties: Bandera, Coke, Crockett, Edwards, Gillespie, Jim Hogg, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Medina, Pecos, Schleicher, Starr, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Zapata, Zavala.
According to the Executive Director Orders issued, all warm-blooded animals in a zone may not move out of the zone without prior authorization from the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC). Learn more by visiting the TAHC website, available here.
