WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – The New Mexico Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday that it had confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a beef cow.
• The department said it is continuing to expand surveillance around affected locations to identify any additional cases and determine whether the pest has spread beyond the affected animals
• “We are working closely with our state and federal partners to investigate these cases, increase surveillance and monitor for additional infestations,” Samantha Holeck, state veterinarian with the New Mexico Livestock Board, said in a statement
• The news came after the US Department of Agriculture said earlier in the day that it had confirmed the first detection of flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in US wildlife in an elk in Pecos County, Texas
• The elk was located on a game ranch and was reported after being harvested by a hunter, the USDA said in a statement
• The Texas Animal Health Commission will modify a previously established infested zone, and the USDA and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are conducting additional wildlife surveillance in the area, the USDA said
• Eradicated from the US decades ago, the pest has surged north from Central America through Mexico, prompting Washington to impose a more than year-long ban on Mexican cattle imports
• The US halted livestock imports from Mexico last year to keep out screwworm but resumed trade in August at an Arizona port as part of a phased reopening plan
• The halt tightened US cattle supplies, contributing to a rise in beef prices to record highs for American consumers
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Christopher Cushing)
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