4 New World screwworm cases confirmed in Texas

On June 3 Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) received confirmation of the first detection of New World screwworm (NWS) in Texas. A National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, verified the sample, taken from an umbilical lesion in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, as the Index Case of NWS.

Since that first confirmed detection, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed three new NWS cases in Texas.

The second detection on June 5 also occurred in Zavala County. The sample confirmed as NWS was likewise taken from an umbilical lesion of a one-month-old calf.

On June 8, USDA identified a third confirmed case of NWS in a goat in Gillespie County, and verified a fourth case June 9 in a calf in LaSalle County.

USDA reported a case of NWS detected in a dog in Andrews County. However, the dog resides at a household in Lea County, New Mexico (on the TX-NM border), and USDA reclassified the detection as the first case in New Mexico.

As the Anvil Herald went to press, there were no further confirmed detections in animals in Texas.