A New World butcherworm caterpillar was detected in a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service announced Wednesday.
New World screwworm larvae “burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing serious damage to livestock and economic losses,” the USDA noted in a statement. press release regarding detection.
Larvae were identified in the umbilical area of the young calf, the statement said, adding that no further detections have been made to date.
“USDA has invested heavily in the tools needed to eliminate NWS since cases began increasing in Central America and Mexico. The United States has already defeated this pest and we will do so again,” the USDA said.
USDA and Texas officials are working to contain and eradicate NWS from the country, including establishing a 20-kilometer (12-mile) infested zone around detection and enforcing quarantines, movement controls, and surveillance in the area.
“Protecting our livestock industry is a national security issue of the utmost importance, and USDA is wasting no time in taking action,” said Dudley Hoskins, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs.
“USDA has invested heavily in the tools needed to eliminate NWS since cases began to rise in Central America and Mexico,” Hoskins said. “The United States has already defeated this scourge, and we will do it again.”
In December, the Food and Drug Administration granted conditional approval to the topical solution. Cattle Exzolt-CA1which is used to prevent and treat infestations of New World worms, and which is produced by Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Cie.
The price of Merck shares was up more than 3.5% in early trading Thursday.
—CNBC Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this article.
