MEDINA COUNTY, Texas – The New World Screwworm was detected Tuesday in a cow in northwest Medina County, according to the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC).
Due to the detection of the New World Screwworm, Medina County Judge Keith Lutz said in a statement Wednesday that portions of Bandera, Medina and Uvalde counties have since been designated as “Infested Zone 09.”
To prioritize the health of animals and reduce the spread of the parasitic fly, the Texas Animal Health Commission said a quarantine is now in effect for Infested Zone 09.
The following animal movement restrictions are now imposed:
- Warm-blooded animals located in Infested Zone 09 cannot be moved outside the zone without permission from the TAHC
- To move animals outside the zone, the animal must be inspected and treated as required by the TAHC and issued a permit or certificate for movement by a TAHC representative
- Any parts of an animal capable of serving as a host for the parasitic fly must be inspected and receive treatment deemed necessary by a TAHC representative before its removal from the zone
- Unauthorized movement is not allowed and is subject to administrative penalties and/or criminal prosecution
According to the TAHC, the order will remain in effect until the quarantine is lifted.
Bandera County’s response
Bandera County commissioners met Thursday morning to consider declaring a local state of disaster regarding the parasitic fly.
Watch the commissioners court discuss the New World Screwworm below.
Bandera County Judge Richard A. Evans signed the declaration — which lasts for seven days — before the commissioners court voted in favor of extending the declaration to 30 days moments later.
The declaration allows the state to allocate resources to the county to combat the parasite, if needed.
During the meeting, Evans said the commissioners waited until Thursday to take action because “we didn’t know if we were going to actually have a case (of New World Screwworm) or not.”
“We have an imminent threat (of New World Screwworm),” Evans said Thursday. “We do not have a screwworm case in our county.”
Evans also disputed Bandera County’s partial inclusion in “Infested Zone 09,” which Medina County Judge Keith Lutz mentioned in his Wednesday statement.
“If you go on the (Texas) Animal Health Commission’s (website), there is a map and it shows that we’re on the very edge of it (Infested Zone 09),” Evans said. “We’re not quarantined. We’re in the outer ring — the (Adjusted) Surveillance (Zone) ring."
As of Thursday morning, there are 17 active cases of the New World Screwworm in Texas, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture online dashboard.
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