Key facts
- Samples from a suspected screwworm infestation on a Texas cattle farm were sent for federal testing.
- The Texas Animal Health Commission states there are no confirmed cases of New World screwworm in Texas.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a case 25 miles south of the Texas border in Coahuila state.
- Photos and videos of suspected cases circulated among livestock producers, rattling cattle futures.
Samples from a suspected infestation of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite on a cattle farm in La Pryor, Texas, have been sent to a federal government lab for testing. Texas Representative Don McLaughlin stated that samples were taken from two calves on the same ranch and that he had seen photos and videos of the cases. A photo circulating among livestock producers, which McLaughlin confirmed as the same case, has rattled cattle futures. However, the Texas Animal Health Commission told Reuters that there has been no confirmed case of New World screwworm in Texas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed a case 25 miles south of the Texas border in Coahuila state earlier in the week, and previously stated that McLaughlin had inaccurate information regarding a confirmed case one mile south of the border.