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Texas Animal Health Commission updates members on screwworm, cattle fever tick, avian influenza and other threats
Summary
Commission staff reported ongoing surveillance and response work on New World screwworm, cattle fever tick field trials, highly pathogenic avian influenza in dairy, and avian metapneumovirus; staff also requested additional funding and described federal coordination and planned pilot projects.
Texas Animal Health Commission staff told the commission on March 3 that the agency is continuing multiple surveillance and control efforts for invasive parasites and animal diseases, including New World screwworm, cattle fever tick field trials, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle, and avian metapneumovirus.
At the start of the operations report, the agency director noted the commission is proceeding with field and laboratory work on a cattle fever tick treatment trial that moved from Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge to a USDA-ARS research facility for a controlled study. Staff said the trial — funded in part by a $316,000 appropriation from the prior biennium — is on schedule and producing preliminary data; they also said the commission has requested an additional $30,000 as an exceptional-item budget request to the Legislative Budget Board to cover costs resulting from the relocation of the trial.
Why it matters: cattle fever tick and related ectoparasites are regulated pests that threaten livestock health and trade; the commission said maintaining surveillance and treatment capacity is necessary to support quarantine and eradication work along the Texas–Mexico border.
Staff described several international and interstate efforts tied to screwworm and ticks. Agency staff said USDA and Mexican authorities have coordinated to bolster buffer zones along the Rio Grande and to increase wildlife surveillance; Mexico and USDA pledged funds for pilot projects, and USDA is finalizing material transfer agreements to obtain treatment product samples. The commission also reported ongoing stakeholder calls and surveillance for the Asian longhorned tick after new detections in Oklahoma and other states.
On New World screwworm the commission reported USDA temporarily suspended importation of live animals from parts of Mexico after detections in Chiapas and other southern Mexican states; USDA and Mexican authorities put preclearance inspection and treatment protocols in place and reopened some ports to limited live-animal trade under those protocols. Commission staff said Mexico is developing sterile insect release capacity in southern facilities and that eradication and buffer efforts could take six months to a year to verify.
The commission also briefed members on recent developments in HPAI in dairy cattle and the USDA National Milk Testing Strategy. Staff said USDA issued a federal order mandating testing of unpasteurized milk intended for interstate movement under its Animal Health Protection Act authority and that the national strategy includes five stages, from regional prevalence assessment through demonstration of disease freedom. Texas will begin by sampling plant silo milk and then collect bulk tank samples for dairies connected to positive silos. Agency staff said the commission is coordinating sampling protocols with the Department of State Health Services and USDA.
On poultry health, staff described a rise in avian metapneumovirus detections across multiple states and said the commission had approved limited use of live attenuated vaccine products under emergency authorizations; staff said there are no fully licensed vaccines in the U.S. for that virus and emphasized biosecurity as the primary prevention tool.
Quotes and sources: “We should have some preliminary data in regards to this trial at the beginning of the of summer,” staff said of the cattle fever tick trial. Patricia Collins, USDA area veterinarian in charge, told commissioners, “There are 1,594 confirmed premises nationwide” for the HPAI outbreak since 2022. Rex White, manager of the authorized personnel program, explained details of the Rural Veterinary Incentive (VMLRP) nominations (see separate article).
Actions and next steps: the commission included an exceptional-item request for additional funding for the tick trial in its biennial budget materials delivered to the Legislative Budget Board and reported ongoing coordination with federal partners (USDA APHIS, USDA ARS) and with Texas A&M diagnostic laboratories. Staff said they will provide further updates as study data become available in summer and as USDA finalizes protocols for screwworm control.
