New World screwworm fly detected in South Texas, USDA confirms

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Wednesday that the New World screwworm fly has arrived in south Texas.

Brooke Rollins
US Department of Agriculture
1. If we all work together and follow the animal treatment protocols and movement restriction guidance, there is no reason to believe that this incursion will result in an establishment of the pest in our country.
Max Scott
North Carolina State University
1. It was a lot of effort by a lot of people, but it's largely unknown, unfortunately, because it was a big success story. They kept it there and away from here for 20 years, but the barrier failed a few years ago, and flies rapidly moved through Central America until where we are today.
2. The USDA, over a 50-year period, succeeded in eradicating this fly all the way down to the Panama-Colombia border.
Cheryl Whitehorn
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
1. The primary measure is vigilance, identification and isolation of cases, treatment and elimination of larvae and controlling movement of animals. A programme of sterile male release is the best long-term method of controlling this fly.
2. This is regarded as a locally acquired infestation with the larvae infesting the umbilical cord of the calf.

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