AUSTIN (KXAN) -- New World Screwworms, a flesh-eating maggot, is closing in on the Texas border.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, New World screwworms is an invasive species that burrows fly larvae into fresh wounds of living animals like livestock, pets and occasionally people. The damage they cause can be deadly.

Earlier this summer, Governor Greg Abbott and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a push to prevent the screwworm from reaching Texas. A new sterile fly production facility is now under construction in Edinburg, TX.

But it may be too late. Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that the screwworm was spotted in Sabinas Hidalgo, just 70 miles from the U.S./Mexico border.

"We've got this thing, its 70 miles from Lared

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