Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has issued a disaster declaration to combat a flesh-eating parasite threatening to invade from Mexico.
The order mobilizes state resources to prevent New World screwworms from devastating Texas livestock and wildlife. The declaration comes as the destructive insects creep closer to the Texas border, potentially endangering the state’s multibillion-dollar livestock industry. Officials reported the parasites are now just over 200 miles from Texas.
“Although the New World screwworm fly is not yet present in Texas or the U.S., its northward spread from Mexico toward the U.S. southern border poses a serious threat to Texas’ livestock industry and wildlife,” Abbott said in a news release. “State law authorizes me to act to prevent a threat of infestation that could cause severe damage to Texas property, and I will not wait for such harm to reach our livestock and wildlife.”
Last summer, the governor established a joint Texas New World Screwworm Response Team, with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department leading the effort alongside the Texas Animal Health Commission.
The team coordinates prevention efforts among state, federal, and industry partners. Their mission includes information sharing and stakeholder engagement to halt the parasite’s advance.
Abbott emphasized Texas’s readiness to act decisively.
“With this statewide disaster declaration, the Texas NWS Response Team can fully utilize all state government prevention and response resources to prevent the re-emergence of this destructive parasite. Texas is prepared to fully eradicate this pest if need be.”
The declaration follows last year’s announcement of an $750 million federal plan to battle the insects. Most of the funding was used to build a facility near the border that produces 300 million sterile male flies per week.
These sterile males are dropped into infested areas. They reduce populations by mating without reproducing.
New World screwworms lay eggs in open animal wounds. Their larvae become flesh-eating parasites that threaten livestock, pets, and humans.
The United States eradicated screwworms in the 1960s through aggressive intervention. Now they’re advancing north from Panama through Mexico.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller recently warned of screwworm detection in González, Tamaulipas, with 11 cases confirmed since December 30. Miller warned that the parasite may be spreading naturally rather than through cattle transport.
