The Department of Agriculture confirmed detection of the New World screwworm in a calf in Texas, marking the first detection of the pest in years and a serious threat to the United States cattle industry and other livestock and animals.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that the department has deployed a response team to the area and started the process of implementing quarantines, limits on livestock movement and increased surveillance of animals. Screwworm larvae were detected “in the umbilical cord” of a 3-week-old calf, Rollins said.
The detection does not mean a food safety threat or a public health hazard, Rollins emphasized on a call with reporters Wednesday night.
But the screwworm’s presence in the United States is likely to cause anxiety among cattle producers who have been concerned about the potential spread of the pest for months as it’s reached closer to the southern border.
