Albuquerque, NM (KKOB) — Here they come! No new cases of New World screwworm have been detected in New Mexico for more than a month. However, while addressing state lawmakers on Tuesday the state’s top veterinarian Samantha Holek said, the parasitic fly “definitely is headed this way,” and a widespread infection would quickly exhaust the state’s resources. She also said that the state is urgently finalizing a program that would increase the number of certified livestock inspectors to help private veterinarians, along with state and federal officials, contain a screwworm outbreak. The fly made its first new incursion to the United States in early June, when it was detected in a south Texas calf, and then officials identified a separate infection in a Lea County dog in New Mexico a few days later. Since then, the number of cases has increased in Texas and in Mexican states along the U.S.-Mexico border. As of Monday, Texas tallied 43 total infections, including eight new cases. Chihuahua, which borders New Mexico, has 57 cases, a case count which Holeck said has “risen rather quickly.”
