AUSTIN, Texas — Texas health officials are keeping watch for an invader that could severely damage the state’s cattle industry.
The maggot, known as the New World screwworm, can infect cattle, deer, pets and even humans.
The New World screwworm, so named because it can burrow into an open wound like a screw driving into wood, is the larvae of an invasive fly, which deposits its larvae into an open wound.
Screwworms can devastate livestock herds. The discovery of a single screwworm infection among cattle in Mexico a few weeks ago has raised concerns that an infestation could happen in Texas, even though screwworms had been eradicated in the US in the 1960s.
The pest is still common in South and Central America and appears to be migrating northward. That’s a potential problem not only for Texas ranchers, but for consumers as well. Economists say a screwworm outbreak, should it happen here, would likely lead to higher prices for beef products at the grocery store.