The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the United States’ food supply is not at risk after confirming two more cases of the New World screwworm in Texas. The first case in the United States in 60 years was detected in a calf in La Pryor, Texas, last week. File Photo by Bill Greenblat/UPI | License Photo
June 8 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the United States' food supply is not at risk after confirming two more cases of the New World screwworm in Texas.
New cases were confirmed in La Salle County and Andrews County, Texas. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the federal government has officials in Texas helping to contain the Cochliomyia hominivorax.
"This is not a virus, it's not a disease, it's just a little pest, a larva that lands in a calf's wound, for example, and it can be treated," Rollins said in an interview on CNBC.
Rollins added that the United States is investing more than $1 billion to stop the spread of the screwworm. The parasite was eradicated in the United States in the 1960s and had not appeared again until last week.
