Canada restricts Texas cattle over US flesh-eating screwworm outbreak

Canada’s food inspection agency has reportedly announced a temporary suspension on livestock from the US state of Texas after a serious incident of flesh-eating screwworms was spotted in calves this week.

According to an agency, cows and horses that were in Texas within 21 days prior to arriving at the border will not be accepted into Canada.

Advertisement

The announcement comes after the US Department of Agriculture officially shared the fact that a parasite had been found in a second Texas calf. Texas Gov Abbott declared a state of disaster in the wake of the threat posed by the recent outbreak.

The new world screwworm is a parasitic fly whose females lay eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals and humans. Most importantly, it is highly destructive; once hatched, hundreds of larvae burrow into and feed on living flesh which is fatal to the host if untreated.

US officials announced that Texas detected its first screwworm case in 60 years in a three-week-old calf in La Pryor. Afterwards, a second case was found shortly in one-month-old calf in Zavala County.

These cases are part of a larger outbreak currently moving through Central America and Mexico. The parasite was considered officially eradicated in the US in 1966, though isolated outbreaks occurred later such as in the 1970s.

Concerning the current situation, the USDA has established a 20km-wide "control zone”, enacted quarantines, restricted animal movement, and increased surveillance.

In this regard, Texas Governor Abbott declared a state of disaster stating that the outbreak poses an imminent threat to the Texas agricultural industry. 

Officials plan to deploy sniffer dogs to detect the parasite and release hundreds of millions of genetically altered sterile flies to halt population growth-though some experts question if this will be enough.

Notably, adult flies only travel short distances on their own-specifically meaning that human transport is the primary way the parasites spread over long distances. 

Canadian officials state that the parasite is unlikely to establish a foothold there due to the cold climate.

Canada and the US share a massive, two-way cattle trade. Officials in the US and in Latin America have been addressing the issue of screwworms for much of the past six decades. 

As a result, Canadian farmers and travelers are being warned to monitor livestock and pets for foul-smelling wounds.