Texas inspectors screen livestock trailers in South Texas to prevent screwworm outbreak

Texas Animal Health Commission inspectors were not screening every livestock trailer crossing from Mexico into Brooks County on Tuesday, Dec. 2, as officials work to prevent the return of screwworms, a devastating pest once eradicated from the United States.

The screwworm fly, which lays eggs in open wounds on animals, was declared eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s but remains active in Mexico. The closest confirmed case is approximately 70 miles south of the Texas border.

Dr. Michael Vickers, a Brooks County veterinarian who has treated animals for more than five decades, understands the potential consequences if screwworms cross into Texas.

"Hopefully it doesn't get here because — my feeling is — if it does get here other states are going to quarantine Texas cattle," Vickers said.