County officials issue warning about New World screwworm

Disaster declaration signed by county judge

Kendall County officials have renewed a disaster declaration for the New World screwworm, saying it’s only a matter of time before the infestation shows up in the Hill Country.

County Judge Shane Stolarczyk told Commissioners Court June 23 he signed the first order June 18 after consulting with more than two dozen officials who recently gathered in Boerne, then issued it again this week.

“It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ we start getting reported cases here,” Stolarczyk said. “That’s when it becomes incumbent upon us ... to be vigilant.”

He signed the disaster declaration “based on conversations with (Texas Department of Emergency Management) and a bunch of other folks from surrounding counties ... and the advice we received was to enter the disaster declaration.” The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly native to the Western Hemisphere. It lays eggs in the living tissue of fresh wounds in warm-blooded animals. The larvae —maggots — feed on the host’s flesh, causing severe wounds and often death if untreated.

The pest was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s. Since then, it occasionally reemerges and has resurfaced in Central America and Mexico, entomologists said.

So far, no cases have been reported in Kendall County. On June 3, screwworm was first confirmed in Texas in a calf in Zavala County.

As of June 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported 25 cases of screwworm in America.

The most recent report was of four infected sheep in Crockett County.

Stolarczyk said the screwworm does not feed on carcasses that normally attract flies and maggots, only live animals.

“This is just a matter of us being vigilant. We don’t want our livestock, as well as our deer and axis, being decimated by this,” he said.

Gov. Greg Abbott first signed a New World Screwworm Disaster Proclamation on Jan. 29, which has been renewed every 30 days.

A June 5 proclamation inked by Abbott recognized the recent migration and spread of the screwworm in the state, saying it “presents an imminent threat of widespread danger and injury” to the Texas’ livestock and wildlife, and the state economy as a result.

The proclamation signed June 18 by Stolarczyk states that “a declaration ... will initiate additional emergency management measures (that) authorize the use of resources and encourage the coordination between Kendall County and other entities” facing similar screwworm problems.

A newsletter produced by Precinct 2 Commissioner Andra Wisian notes several neighboring counties have established quarantine zones, including Kerr County.