The flesh-eating New World screwworm has officially reached the United States after tearing through Central America and Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the country's first domestic livestock case in decades after the parasite was discovered in a three-week-old calf in Texas.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state is working closely with federal agencies to contain the invasive pest. The USDA has already established a 20-kilometer control zone and is deploying millions of sterile male flies to disrupt the reproductive cycle of wild populations. Meanwhile, Mexican cattle producers are waiting to see what will happen; the U.S. had already closed its southern border to live Mexican livestock imports last year as a preventative measure.
