Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shares plan to fight New World screwworm as cases increase to 5

New World screwworm has spread to the Texas Hill Country after federal officials confirmed a case in a Gillespie County goat. So far, three calves, a dog and a goat have confirmed cases. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the dog case initially reported in Andrews County, Texas, has been reclassified as the first confirmed case of New World screwworm in New Mexico. Investigators determined the dog resides in Lea County, New Mexico, though the treating veterinarian who reported the case is based in Texas. The first two confirmed cases were calves in Zavala County in South Texas. A third calf was infected in nearby La Salle County in South Texas. But the dog in New Mexico and goat in the Texas Hill Country are spread hundreds of miles apart and have federal and state officials treating this as an aggressive emergency. “These developments obviously represent a serious threat to our livestock and wildlife, but they have not caught us off guard. We have been tracking this pest for a long time. We have fought it off before and we will do so again,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. Rollins joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott in Kerrville to assure ranchers that the state and federal governments are working on rapid solutions. It comes as President Donald Trump appointed John Bellinger, a member of the Texas A&M University Board of Regents, to be the new senior adviser for screwworm preparedness. Bellinger is expected to help explore all available technologies to combat the screwworm including the production and distribution of sterile male flies. “The USDA is now importing and dispersing those sterile flies in South Texas and will recalibrate to deploy those sterile flies as needed and where needed,” said Abbott. Full story: https://fox11online.com/news/nation-w... #texas #screwworm #healthnews #gregabbott #governor #trump #donaldtrump _______________ Stay up to date with our social media: WLUK on Facebook:   / wlukfox11   WLUK on Twitter:   / fox11news   Subscribe to WLUK on YouTube:    / @fox11online   Daily News Playlist:    • Playlist   For more information, visit https://www.fox11online.com/ Have a news tip? Send it directly to us: Email us: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 920.494.8711 WLUK is a WI based station and a FOX Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. #WLUK #FOX11 #WLUKFox11 #FOX11News #Greenbay