Officials Confirm Screwworm
Larva In West Texas Angora

AUSTIN — The Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed late last week that a suspicious larva found in a West Texas Angora goat was a screwworm maggot. The agency is urging all stockmen and hunters to be on the lookout for other maggots in animal sores or wounds.

The screwworm larva was one of nine suspicious maggots removed from a shearing wound in an Angora goat near Rocksprings in Edwards County. The larvae were collected in late October and submitted for identification.

USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa confirmed a preliminary identification of one of the larvae as a screwworm, says TAHC.

How the insect appeared in Texas is still unknown, as is the possible scope of any infestation. For that reason, officials are calling for a state of "high alert."

"Ranchers, hunters or anyone handling livestock or wildlife should check animals and pets closely and call us immediately if there are any maggots or larvae in wounds," advises Dr. Terry Beals, TAHC executive director and state veterinarian.

"A TAHC or USDA field specialist will go to the ranch or hunting lease to pick up the larvae for laboratory submission and gather information for the investigation."

If another screwworm is found, Beals adds, "USDA's Emergency Services will make sterile screwworm fly drops over the affected area."

Officials are already collecting information about available airport facilities and storage space should fly drops become necessary, and Beals said an emergency drop could be made within 24 hours from the sterile fly plant in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Mexico.

TAHC and USDA personnel have already distributed 2400 screwworm submission kits to veterinarians, county agents, livestock auctions and feed stores. If such a kit is not readily available, Beals says, suspicious larvae can be placed in alcohol in any available container, whether a glass jar, a medicine bottle or a film canister. He asks that infected animals be held in a pen or barn until they can be inspected.

Texas has been screwworm-free since the early 1980s and Mexico has been free of the pest since shortly afterward. Prior to the costly eradication effort, screwworms caused millions of dollars in damage to livestock annually, depressed wildlife numbers, and required countless man-hours of labor for treatment. That labor is no longer available, for the most part, nor are the medicines once used to treat screwworm-infested wounds. Wildlife, meanwhile, have become a critical cash component of most ranching enterprises.

The Edwards County discovery is a reminder of how quickly screwworms could become re-established, bringing with them economic and animal health costs that would deal a staggering blow to today's hard-pressed ranching industry.

One possible bright spot in the situation is its timing: impending cold weather could help keep any infestation under control, though that would require a harsher winter than current signs are suggesting.

Meanwhile, stockmen or others with suspicious wounds to report can reach TAHC's Austin headquarters at (800) 550-8242; USDA's Austin office phone is (512) 916-5555.