The U.S. Department of Agriculture has put out recommendations to ranchers in Arizona after multiple cases of a deadly, flesh-eating parasite have been confirmed in cattle in Texas.
The fly larvae can burrow into the flesh of warm-blooded animals and now threaten the United States’ cattle supply, which is already at record lows. The U.S. officially eradicated the parasite in the 1960s.
No cases of the parasite have been reported in Arizona, but USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has put out guidance for ranchers in the state to protect against it.
The suggestions include monitoring the feral swine population, which is highly susceptible to New World screwworm, as well as cleaning out brush and disposing of animal carcasses to not attract flies.
In a statement, the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Arizona said it is prepared to offer technical assistance and resources to ranchers along the Southwest border as cases continue to appear in Texas.
“NRCS in Arizona will work closely with both producers and other government agencies to give a unified and diligent response to this concerning development,” NRCS state conservationist Keisha Tatem said. “NRCS continues to be committed to Arizona agriculture producers.”
USDA has been dispersing sterile flies in areas in Texas, where the cases have been confirmed. The method involves releasing flies into the environment that don’t produce offspring, eventually reducing the overall population.
The screwworm was first reported in a young calf in Texas last week, after authorities in Mexico and the United States spent more than a year trying to stifle the northward spread of the parasite in Mexico.
The parasite has not been reported in either Arizona or in the Mexican state of Sonora, directly to the south.
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