Flesh-eating maggots spotted 70 miles south of Texas threatens livestock population

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — The New World screwworm (NWS) — a maggot which feeds off living flesh — is on Texas's doorstep.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the pest was spotted in by Mexican authorities in Sabinas Hidalgo in the Mexican state of Nuevo León. The city is less than a two-hour drive to Laredo, Texas.

"This is now the northernmost detection of NWS during this outbreak, and the one most threatening to the American cattle and livestock industry," USDA said on Sunday.

According to the USDA, the newest screwworm outbreak in Central America in 2023, and officials started to be concerned about a potential spread as early as January. The parasite last wreaked havoc in the United States in the 1950s, costing farmers an estimated $50-$100 million per year in the American Southwest. Despite being eradicated from the United States in 1966, frequent outbreaks in Mexico cost Texas's economy $283-$375 million per year before the countries worked together to push the parasite out of Mexico.

In June, Texas created a response team to deal with the NWS. Then, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins visited the Texas Capitol to announce a new sterile fly production facility in Edinburg. The facility will breed 300 million flies a week with the intention of releasing the sterile male flies into the population. Using sterile populations for control was developed at the University of Texas in Austin by entomologists, Edward F. Knipling and Raymond C. Bushland.

Signs of an animal infested with the New World screwworm include:

• Foul-smelling wounds with maggots
• Animals biting or licking their wounds
• Lesions in bellybuttons, ears and where branding has occured
• Lethargy

If an infestation is suspected, Texas A&M Agrilife recommends you contact authorities, like the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas Parks and Wildlife, and notify your veterinarian.

You should then inspect the animal for signs of infestation and collect any samples to give to authorities. There are several treatment options, including topical treatments.