A preemptive strike: Texas mobilizes against a looming parasitic threat
By willowt // 2026-02-02
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  •  Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a preemptive statewide disaster declaration to combat the potential spread of the New World Screwworm.
  • The parasitic fly, currently moving northward in Mexico, is a flesh-eating pest that infests wounds on livestock, wildlife, and humans.
  • A new state response team will coordinate with federal agencies, including the USDA, which is investing heavily in sterile fly production technology.
  • The U.S. eradicated the screwworm in 1966, but a modern outbreak could cause billions in economic damage to the livestock industry.
  • The declaration is a preventative measure; the parasite has not yet been detected within U.S. borders.
In an unprecedented move to protect the nation’s food supply and agricultural economy, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued a statewide disaster declaration against a pest that is not yet within its borders. The action, announced Thursday, mobilizes state resources to prevent the northward spread of the New World Screwworm, a devastating flesh-eating parasite advancing through Mexico toward the U.S. The declaration empowers a newly formed response team to collaborate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a high-stakes campaign to keep the parasite out of American livestock herds, underscoring the severe economic and animal welfare consequences of a potential breach.

The Anatomy of a Crisis

The New World Screwworm is not a typical insect nuisance. It is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals. The lifecycle is gruesomely efficient: a female fly is attracted to any open wound—be it a scratch, a tick bite, or a surgical incision—and lays hundreds of eggs. The emerging maggots burrow into the flesh, causing painful, expanding lesions that can lead to fatal infections within weeks. A single female can lay up to 3,000 eggs in her lifetime, enabling rapid population explosion. While humans can become incidental hosts, the primary targets are livestock, including the vast cattle herds of Texas and the American Southwest, making the parasite a direct threat to the meat production industry.

Echoes of a Costly Past

The urgency of Texas’s preemptive strike is rooted in costly history. The United States once waged a decades-long war against the screwworm, which plagued livestock across the Southeast. The campaign culminated in a landmark success using the sterile insect technique—flooding infested areas with radiation-sterilized male flies to break the reproductive cycle. The parasite was declared eradicated from the U.S. in 1966. However, a 1976 outbreak in Texas, before full containment, offers a stark warning. That single episode cost the equivalent of over $1 billion in today’s dollars in lost livestock and eradication efforts. Agricultural officials fear a modern infestation could incur a similar or greater economic catastrophe, destabilizing a critical sector of the food supply chain.

The Federal and State Defense Strategy

The state disaster declaration is one part of a layered national defense. It directs the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Texas Animal Health Commission to form a joint Texas New World Screwworm Response Team. This team will partner with the USDA, which has already launched a major offensive. Federal strategy centers on sterile fly technology, including:
  • An $8.5 million sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in South Texas.
  • A planned $750 million domestic sterile fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas.
  • A $21 million production plant in Mexico, aiming to produce hundreds of millions of sterile flies weekly to create a biological barrier.
This collaboration aims to establish a formidable buffer zone before the parasite, recently detected in Mexican states just 700 miles from Texas, can reach the border.

A Border on Biosecurity Alert

The disaster declaration is fundamentally a border security measure for biosecurity. With the screwworm’s presence confirmed in Mexico, the U.S. has already halted live animal imports from the country since May 11. Governor Abbott’s order ensures Texas agencies can swiftly deploy surveillance, quarantine protocols, and public education campaigns. The move also prepares the state to immediately implement eradication measures—including the release of sterile flies—should the parasite be detected. The declaration sends a clear message that the state will not adopt a wait-and-see approach with a pest capable of causing widespread agricultural emergency.

A Vigilant Stance for an Uncertain Future

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note the immediate risk to the general public remains low, the threat to agriculture is clear and present. The combined state and federal actions represent a massive investment in prevention, betting millions now to avert billions in losses later. The campaign against the New World Screwworm is a testament to the fragile balance of modern agriculture and the constant vigilance required to protect it. As Texas stands on the front line, the success of this preemptive strike will determine whether the U.S. livestock industry faces a grim replay of history or secures another generation free from this ancient scourge. Sources for this article include: TheEpochTimes.com Texas.gov CDC.gov  
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