New World screwworm cases confirmed in wildlife in Texas, beef cow in New Mexico

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – The US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it confirmed the first detection of flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in US wildlife in an elk in Pecos County, Texas, while New Mexico authorities separately said they confirmed a case in a beef cow.

• The elk was located on a game ranch and was reported after being harvested by a hunter, the USDA said in a statement.

• The Texas Animal Health Commission will modify a previously established infested zone, and the USDA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are conducting additional wildlife surveillance in the area, the USDA said.

• The New Mexico Department of Agriculture said later that animal health officials confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a beef cow in the state’s Otero County.

• New Mexico authorities said state and federal officials were continuing to expand surveillance and fly-trapping around affected locations to identify any additional cases and determine whether the pest had spread beyond the affected animals.

• Officials have established a minimum 12.4-mile (20 km) radius infested zone around the affected animal’s location, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture said.

• Within this zone, animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before moving within or out of the area, state authorities added.

• Eradicated from the US decades ago, the pest has surged north from Central America through Mexico, prompting Washington to impose a more than year-long ban on Mexican cattle imports.

• The US halted livestock imports from Mexico last year to keep out screwworm but resumed trade in August at an Arizona port as part of a phased reopening plan.

• The halt tightened US cattle supplies, contributing to a rise in beef prices to record highs for American consumers.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis, Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.)