As of this morning (6/23), there were 13 active cases of New World screwworm (NWS) in seven Texas counties. There were three inactive cases, two in Texas and one in New Mexico.
USDA continues to maintain infested zones around the active locations with quarantines, movement controls and heightened surveillance. Movement controls do not impact cattle movement outside these zones. Sterile flies still are being released over and just outside the infested areas and additional testing, trapping and surveillance is being conducted.
In the meantime, USDA has announced funding for 40 projects to bolster the nation’s defenses against NWS. These innovations promise to sharpen detection, accelerate control and eradication tools, and strengthen rapid-response capabilities.
USDA launched the NWS Grand Challenge earlier this year, calling on innovators from federal and non-federal entities to help in the efforts to prevent the spread of NWS by bringing forth high-impact ideas. Projects were selected based on their innovative approaches, scientific gold standards, and their potential to make a significant impact on the prevention and response to NWS.
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