New Mexico ranchers are being urged to stay alert and inspect their animals after a dog in Lea County was confirmed to have been infected by the New World screwworm, a dangerous parasite that can harm livestock, pets and humans.

Officials say the dog was likely infected after traveling through Texas, where the parasite has infected three calves and a goat in three counties hundreds of miles away.

Caleb Hubbard, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology at New Mexico State University, has been raising public awareness about the possibility of an outbreak since last year, when infections were reported across the border in Mexico.

“The only way that we're going to be able to isolate and stop these cases from spreading is if people are reporting it, so that then we can have an appropriate response,” Hubbard said.

Because of concerns about the parasite moving north, the United States halted live cattle crossings at the Mexico border last July.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture calls the New World screwworm a “devastating pest” that could threaten not only the livestock industry, but also the economy and food supply chain. The USDA says a large-scale outbreak in New Mexico could cost producers $130 million, with a statewide economic impact of more than $300 million.

The New World screwworm is about the size of a housefly and has a deep blue to blue-green metallic color. But it poses an outsized threat by causing severe damage and lesions that can be fatal.

Infected animals are separated from herds and treated. Eradication occurs only after males sterilized in a laboratory are released, causing females to lay infertile eggs.

Hubbard said that process presents both labor and time challenges and requires cooperation.

“We think that we really have these four or five cases," he said, "but if people aren't reporting, people aren't working together, there's very likely a potential that this will continue to spread, just like it has in Mexico.”

The parasite was all but eradicated from the United States in 1966. But even as it was spreading across Mexico last year, the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency cut funding for a project dedicated to monitoring and containing the pest in Central America.

On Monday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed the Biden administration for the recent outbreak, saying lax border policies allowed the parasite to migrate northward.

Source: Public News Service