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Travis County extends disaster declaration as officials brief on New World screwworm
Summary
After briefings from Texas A&M AgriLife and Austin Public Health about the New World screwworm, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to extend the judge's disaster declaration and urged ranchers and clinicians to report suspected infestations to state and county authorities.
Travis County Commissioners on June 16 voted unanimously to extend a disaster declaration tied to the New World screwworm after receiving briefings from Texas A&M AgriLife and the Austin-Travis County Health Authority.
Sonia Swiger, a livestock entomologist with Texas A&M AgriLife, told the court the screwworm is a parasitic blowfly that targets warm-blooded animals and can cause severe, sometimes fatal, infestations if not identified and treated promptly. "Early detection is important, but very difficult," Swiger said, noting the fly’s life cycle is roughly 21 days and that eradication efforts rely on sterile-fly release and surveillance.
Dr. Desmar Walks, the Austin-Travis County Health Authority, said human risk remains low but advised clinicians and the public to report suspected cases. He gave a county epidemiology on-call number for human reports: (512) 972-5555, and explained that livestock and wildlife reports should go to the Texas Animal Health Commission.
Court members asked how containment will be measured; Walks described USDA’s playbook: "They will release flies for 90 days after a case is identified," he said, and a location may be considered cleared if no new infested animals are found in that window. Commissioners also pressed whether program funding shortfalls contributed to the resurgence; agency witnesses said they could not definitively attribute current spread to any single funding decision.
The court’s extension was made pursuant to Government Code Chapter 418 and will remain in effect "until terminated by the Commissioner's Court," the county attorney explained. County staff and partners said they will continue public messaging and coordination with state and federal agencies to support surveillance, specimen collection, and sterile-fly releases.
