The US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it confirmed the first detection of the flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in US wildlife, in an elk in Pecos County, Texas, while New Mexico authorities separately confirmed a case in a beef cow, Reuters reported. 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. In New Mexico, animal health officials confirmed a case in a beef cow in Otero County, and state authorities established a minimum 12.4-mile, or 20 kilometre, radius infested zone around the affected animal’s location, within which animals must be inspected and, if necessary, treated before moving within or out of the area.
The pest has surged north from Central America through Mexico after being eradicated from the US decades ago, 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, Reuters reported.
A confirmed case in wildlife changes the control problem. Livestock can be inspected, treated and held at zones; an elk on a game ranch cannot be mustered, which is why the agencies’ response is surveillance and fly-trapping around the affected locations to determine whether the pest has spread beyond the affected animals.