June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Wednesday announced a plan to enhance the agency's ability to detect, control and eliminate the New World screwworm, including an $8.5 million fly dispersal facility in South Texas.
The screwworm, which affects livestock, wildlife, pets and, in rare cases, humans, has been eradicated from the United States for decades. But it has been detected in Mexico as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border.
This led to the immediate suspension of live cattle, horse and bison imports through U.S. ports of entry along the southern border on May 11.
When NWS maggots burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious and often deadly damage to the animal, USDA said. Mature screwworm larvae can grow up to two-thirds of an inch.
"The United States has defeated NWS before and we will do it again," Rollins said. "We do not take lightly the threat NWS poses to our livestock industry, our economy and our food supply chain. The United States government will use all resources at its disposal to push back NWS, and today's announcement of a domestic strategy to bolster our border defenses is just the beginning.
