Inside the Texas lab identifying New World screwworm flies to protect South Texas cattle
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There are only two known active screwworm infections in the United States, both in the Del Rio area, according to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory.
The only infection found in the Rio Grande Valley was in Starr County and has already been cleared.
Channel 5 News traveled to College Station to see how experts are identifying which flies pose a threat for cattle ranchers on the border.
A female New World screwworm fly caught two weeks ago along the U.S.-Mexico border in Val Verde County was brought to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in College Station.
Operations Program Manager James Willett is one of nearly 25 lab technicians tasked with identifying potential screwworm fly samples from more than 100 USDA fly traps along the Texas-Mexico border.
"If we don't pay attention to it, it could get out of hand," Willett said.
The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays its eggs on live flesh, causing damage to animals. If it spreads, it can ruin livestock industries in Texas.
Until recently, screwworm fly samples had to travel much farther to be tested. Most samples were sent to a USDA lab in Ames, Iowa. Now, most samples from Texas go to the College Station lab.
That means the lab gets results back to the USDA or the state within 24 hours of receiving a sample. If a screwworm fly is suspected of being non-sterile, it is sent to the Iowa lab for confirmation.
The fly Willett was examining during Channel 5 News' visit on Monday was a sterile female. So far, researchers at the College Station lab have only come across sterile screwworm flies, a sign that federal efforts are working.
"It's kind of expected that we're not seeing the wild-type flies on the trap, because the environment is being just inundated with sterile flies," Willett said.
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the USDA has released 700 million sterile flies as of this month. The spread of the parasite became a concern in late 2024, when confirmed cases started showing up in Mexico.
Willett said that between federal, state and local efforts, it comes down to at-home surveillance.
"If you do own livestock or animals, check them for infestations," Willett said.
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