Oklahoma leaders plan for possibility of screwworms amid livestock import halt

By Jordan Ryan

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    OKLAHOMA CITY (KOCO) — U.S. imports of cattle, horses and bison are at a screeching halt at the southern border because of a flesh-eating pest that’s been detected on livestock in Mexico.

Oklahoma agriculture leaders debriefed state lawmakers on Wednesday as the very small, New World screwworm is causing big problems.

A screwworm is a larva of a fly that can invade the tissues of animals and humans. The parasite can cause serious and life-threatening damage.

This isn’t the first time the pest has caused issues. In the late 1960s, the U.S. eradicated screwworms through the release of sterile male flies.

Now, the U.S. and Mexico are working on similar eradication efforts once again. No cases have been detected in the U.S.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, for now, there is too much risk to allow beef from southern nations into the U.S. She said in a statement that this is not about politics but rather food and animal safety.

Meth use is being blamed for recent cattle theftsUS halts cattle imports from Mexico due to flesh-eating parasite Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall told lawmakers that they’re going to be talking over the next few days on how to get every extension to get county veterinarians prepared. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry also will dive into how to get Oklahomans prepared for screwworm if it makes its way to Oklahoma.

“That’s one thing we’re going to do in the next few days is try to determine how we’re going to do that education and outreach,” Hall said. “Once we start sending out messaging that ‘we’ve got screwworms here,’ please report them. I don’t have the staff, ODAFF doesn’t have the staff to go out to. I can’t imagine how many, especially in the summertime when maggots are common.”

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