June 8 (UPI) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the United States’ food supply is not at risk after confirming two more cases of the New World screwworm in Texas.
New cases were confirmed in La Salle County and Andrews County, Texas. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the federal government has officials in Texas helping to contain the Cochliomyia hominivorax.
“This is not a virus, it’s not a disease, it’s just a little pest, a larva that lands in a calf’s wound, for example, and it can be treated,” Rollins said in an interview on CNBC.
Rollins added that the United States is investing more than $1 billion to stop the spread of the screwworm. The parasite was eradicated in the United States in the 1960s and had not appeared again until last week.
The USDA confirmed that a second screwworm case had been discovered on Friday in Zavala County, Texas. It was about 5.6 miles from the first case in La Pryor, Texas.
The New World screwworm is a fly that burrows into open areas of warm-blooded mammals, including its eyes, ears, genitals or open wounds. Once inside, it lays eggs that hatch maggots that feed on flesh.
The first case in the United States in 60 years was detected in a calf.
The parasite poses a risk to livestock while U.S. cattle numbers are currently at their lowest count in 75 years.
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