Flesh-eating New World screwworm fly is not a food safety or virus issue, Texas officials say

[00:00:04]Thank everybody for being here today. Uh we just had uh more than an hour and a half long briefing and discussion about the state and national response to the new world screworm.

[00:00:19]A case of the new world screworm has been confirmed in the state of Texas in a cap in Zavala County. To be clear, just kind of a simple overview. The new world screworm is not a worm. It's a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on animals, particularly livestock, wildlife, and pets. If left untreated, it can cause serious injury or death. To be clear about a couple of things, what we're dealing with uh is an infestation of animals. However, there is no food safety issue. Full stop. There's a food production issue, but not a food safety issue.

[00:01:08]Also, for Texans, this is not an infectious disease that can spread like CO or something else. So, no worries about anything like that.

[00:01:22]I want everybody to know that there's a very welle longestablished prevention and cure for the spread of the new world screworm cure and prevention that the federal government has implemented in the past.

[00:01:38]It involves the release of sterile flies. It breaks the pests reproduction cycle. The prevention requires the release of millions of sterile flies in targeted regions. The USDA is now importing and dispersing those flies into South Texas and the USDA is also constructing a new sterile screworm production facility in Edinburgh. It is essential that that facility be up and running as quickly as possible.

[00:02:13]Going back to last year, I directed state agencies to establish the Texas New World Screworm Response Team. The team brought together livestock producers, veterinarians, wildlife experts, as well as federal partners to prepare a year in advance for what could be coming through Mexico to Texas.

[00:02:37]uh also issued a statewide disaster declaration to mobilize resources and strengthen Texas's prevention and response efforts once again in advance of the new world school worm even making it to the state of Texas. Among other things, they have deployed strategies to contain and to control any spread of the new world squirreorm in the state.

[00:03:04]Today I am issuing an updated statewide declaration to make two things very clear. First, I authorize the use of all available resources of state government to respond to this disaster and reassign all resources from across the state as needed to address the new world screw work. Specifically along those lines, I'm making available any and all of our state personnel, including our university systems, to accelerate the movement of sterile flies into the state of Texas and to accelerate the construction of the new sterile screworm production facility in Edinburgh.

[00:03:52]I'm going to sign that declaration right now.

[00:04:11]So the response especially what's going on with regard to the facilities are being constructed are just one example of a way that let's say Texas A&M can be involved in this where&m will deploy immediately fly testing facilities to the area. They can do this and other activities through uh their county extension agents where uh there will be someone talking more about that here momentarily.

[00:04:45]Second for this declaration at this time we are prioritizing resources for Zavala and Ualdi counties.

[00:04:55]We will expand the prioritization list as needed, if needed, uh to any other counties where there is any identification of an infestation.

[00:05:06]Here's what Texans can do right now.

[00:05:10]Check your animals daily. Check for any wounds, even small ones like tick bites or navls on newborns or other openings.

[00:05:20]Treat wounds promptly and work to reduce fly populations around your operations.

[00:05:27]Report immediately.

[00:05:29]Any suspicion of new world screworm in wounds should be reported to the Texas Animal Health Commission who will also speak to you here shortly.

[00:05:40]And with regard to that report, anyone can report. You don't have to be a veterinarian or other skilled technician to be able to report. Anybody can report.

[00:05:53]Another thing is if there is an animal suspected of having the school worm, do not move it. Instead, contact one of the two sources I'm about to give to you.

[00:06:05]You can report suspected cases to the Texas Animal Health Commission 24hour veterinarian call line at 1 800-550 8242.

[00:06:19]That's 1 800-550 8242.

[00:06:25]If you observe deer, feral hogs, exotic game animals, or other wildlife showing signs of infestation or unusual wounds, report it immediately to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or to your local Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists.

[00:06:44]Parks and Wildlife also will be speaking to you here shortly.

[00:06:48]The Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist can be reached at 512 3894505.

[00:06:59]Again, the Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist that you can call and report any information to can be reached at 512 3894505.

[00:07:12]Importantly, this is a highly treatable condition if acted on quickly, whether it be for someone's pets or someone's cattle.

[00:07:25]Constant contact with with your veterinarian is very important to be able to relay any observation of any open wounds or any infestation so that it can be treated. And whether it be a pet or cattle or other type of livestock, the goal is to treat it as quickly as possible.

[00:07:46]Pets like dogs and cats with outdoor exposure and untreated wounds need close monitoring all the time.

[00:07:56]Bottom line, Texas is resilient.

[00:08:00]Our producers, veterinarians, and state officials are among the very best in the United States. It is critical for them and for our fellow Texans to stay vigilant and informed. We have in the past prevented as well as eradicated this past and we can do it again. For the latest updates and resources, go to one of several websites. One is the Texas Animal Health Commission at THC.ex.gov.

[00:08:37]Another is Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at TpWD.ex.gov.

[00:08:48]Another one is USDA at screwworm.gov.

[00:08:56]We have with us today who will be providing information to the public the the leaders of every important agency uh that's working around the clock to tackle this problem. We have Admiral Schmooer from the USDA, Dr. Dingis from the Texas Animal Health Commission, we have Dr. Yasawitz with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dr. Kaufman at the&m Agra life extension among other things uh as as well as the acting commissioner of the department of state health services Garcia. We also have with us I don't see him in the room right now but we had uh with us earlier uh for for briefing and consultation uh state senators Perry and Flores as well as representatives Geian and Don Mclofflin. Uh at this time I turn things over to Dr. uh Dingis at the uh Texas Animal Health Commission.

[00:09:56]>> Well, thank you, Governor. It's thanks for having us here today. Um it is extremely important that we continue to share accurate information, especially in this index index case of new world screworms in Texas. So I appreciate this group gathering here uh uh to hear that today. So, uh, this is not something we've wanted wanted to have to face in Texas, but it's something we have prepared, uh, for for some time. First, I want to make sure that, uh, you all have the very current update, uh, on the index premises that, uh, the infestation occurred. Uh, Texas Health Commission, USDA staff have been in close communications with the owner. The herd has been inspected for additional infestations. There have been none. The herd has been treated. The baby calf that had the infested u naval wound uh is doing well and the naval wound is healing nicely. Uh the owner and ranch foreman's cooperation u and their continued v vigilance has been excellent. Uh to paint the picture of the response and how preparedness and coordination efforts have paid off so far. The Texas Animal Health Commission and USDA had discussions about the increased cases in in Mexico uh over this past weekend, especially in the state of Cohila. Uh so we uh started to uh decided over the weekend to uh get teams on the ground to do u targeted outreach in the area from Eagle Pass up to the Amastad recreation area above Del Rio there. And we also discussed uh deploying ground release chambers to dis to dispersed sterile flies in the area as well as increase the number of surveillance uh traps in the in the same area there along the river. Um with those precautionary actions and boots on the ground, we were able to pivot those operations as soon as a report of suspicious larae there in Zavala County earlier this week. Uh since then, the efficient and coordinated effort between USDA, the Texas Animal Health Commission, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department at all levels of this response should be reassuring the rest of the state and that and the nation uh that we are doing any and all things possible to uh stop the spread of new world screworms. As we speak, the Texas Animal Health Commission teams are conducting active animal surveillance in the infested zone. We have had tremendous cooperation from the public, animal owners, and land owners we have interacted with in the zone. We've made significant progress to evaluate the situation, deploy sterile flies to release um in the area. Uh we've made um ground release chambers.

[00:12:42]We've put out ground relief chambers in the area. We've stopped animal movements out out of the zone of those animals having proper uh inspections uh to move out of those zones. We've done our due diligence to educate uh the land owners on the current situation and this pest.

[00:12:59]We want to thank the officials in the area for their cooperation. Their cooperation and assistance with roads stop inspection checkpoints and sharing accurate information has been a great asset. The goal of our response efforts is to prevent the spread of new world screworms out of this zone, but keep the continuity of business going. We need people in the zone and across the state to continue to report suspicions as soon as they see them. If you suspect an animal is infested with new world screworms, notify the Texas Animal Health Commission or your local veterinarian immediately. Quick notification leads to quick detection and quick response to stop this pest from spreading. Animals will still be available or still be able to move.

[00:13:39]We'll just need to make sure that they're moving safely and not moving the screworm with it. To wrap up here, I want to remind everyone a few key points. First, this is not a food safety issue. This is a food production issue.

[00:13:51]New World Screw owners do not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other s food sources. Next, infestations from the pest can be prevented. Animal owners need to look at their animals as often as possible. Stay vigilant, monitoring for wounds that can be covered or treated. This is not an infectious disease, and these flies have to either lay eggs in, on, or near the wound for the animal to become infested. infested treat and cover wounds as quickly as possible. Uh we have heard a lot of buzz about the use of ivameck and wanted to remind everyone that the injectable form of this product has been FDA approved for the prevention of new world screworm. It needs to be administered properly and judiciously in accordance with label requirements and is directed by the licensed veterinarian to be effective and not to not create resistance.

[00:14:39]Finally, this is also a highly treatable condition. If your animal does have an infestation, we have many tools in our toolkit today to prevent devastating impacts that we didn't have before. Uh we want to remind folks that veterary client relationship relationship is critical to best address u specific animal and operational needs for treating new world screw infestations.

[00:15:02]Judicious use of animal prevention and treatment drugs need to be followed. I want to reassure all of you that we've been preparing for this and are taking rigorous actions to protect the rest of the state and the nation from this pest.

[00:15:14]We appreciate sharing of accurate information and will continue to be transparent and provide updates on the situation as we received it. Thank you.

[00:15:24]>> Thank you very much. Uh next is Admiral Schmooer from the United States Department of Agriculture.

[00:15:30]>> Thank you, sir. Good day. uh our highest priority, the priority of USDA as well as Secretary Rollins remains addressing and protecting the United States from new world screworm. We continue to leverage all the tools at our disposal to be able to address this and tackle it. We work very closely with our Texas Animal Health uh Commission colleagues.

[00:15:49]In fact, this is probably the furthest I've been away from Dr. Dingis uh in in days. uh we have pivoted as a department uh within hours when we were notified that there was this case that was uh presumptive positive and so consequently uh I was literally on a flight and was turned around to be able to be at Dr. Ginges's doorstep. The reason I point that out is because we have been working together for over a year. We've been looking at this as been has been moving through Mexico. We understand that when it was first detected in Mexico in November 2024, every single predictive model, every single one estimated that this was going to arrive in the United States last summer. It did not. The reason it did not is because we take a very aggressive approach. We take a whole of government approach to be able to address this. And so, Secretary Rins, USDA has worked with the White House to make sure that we have a a a plan in place that takes all of the different departments and agencies of the entire federal government, has them synchronized. So, one entity is being able to work with our state partners to be able to address these particular issues. Our aggressive actions has slowed down the pest. We knew it was a challenge because we did not have enough flies yet. There are more flies coming on the way. Right now we have a 100 million sterile flies that we manufacture in Panama at a joint facility, US government Panama facility.

[00:17:11]And we bring these flies to both Mexico as well as Texas uh since this past January to be able to disperse them where they need to go. The way we do this is we use science. We have predictive analytics, forecasting, and modeling to tell us what is the best way to be able to distribute these flies before they're going to be needed. And so in essence, it's not where the flies are today, but where they could be weeks from now. We've been working very closely with Texas Animal Health as well as Texas Parks and Wildlife to be able to assess over the last year and a half how to best use these flies when we have a limited number until we get the number that we actually need. As the governor mentioned, we continue to share the latest information as well as updates that we have. We also provide daily updates on screwworm.gov.

[00:17:57]We also list all those Mexico cases that are within 400 miles of the United States. As was mentioned, USDA did confirm the first active New World Screworm case in the United States in Zavala County, Texas. Uh this was back uh two days ago. I want to emphasize that there is only one confirmed infested animal. In addition to that, this is, as was mentioned, not a food safety issue, and USDA inspections are ongoing. and I'll give you a sense of where we are on the ground in partnership with those at the table with me. USDA has 28 responders that are on the ground already, not including myself. We also have four that are scheduled to be here momentarily. These are veterans. These are also uh excuse me, veterinarians and also animal health experts that are here to be able to support uh where the needs are and to be able to complement Texas existing efforts. As we look at what we're doing, we're also bringing those pieces of equipment that are critical to the response. So, this includes new world screworm response cargo trailers. These trailers are mobile response units that allow for both the USDA team as well as our Texas partners to be able to address screwworm where it needs to be needed or excuse me, where it needs to be addressed, how it needs to be addressed, and with those tools that are necessary.

[00:19:10]So, those tools may include things such as traps. They may also include things along the lines of uh ground release chambers as Dr. Dinges has mentioned. We are already working with Texas wildlife to be able to uh look at those issues and those aspects that relate not just to the livestock side but also on the wildlife side. For your awareness, we have dispersed over 130 million flies in Texas uh since January. In addition, we have done an aerial dispersal of over 120 million flies with ground release chambers, as was mentioned, about 4.3 million. Reason I put these numbers out there is we use the science to be able to determine where is the best place to disperse these limited sterile flies, but again, more are coming. We also use science to determine where we think that the fly might be, the natural fly or the wildfly or the cases could be. We also use the appropriate mechanisms that are in place to be able to disperse those supplies in the most effective way. So that could be by air, could be by ground release chambers, it could even be by trucks that we have. We work very closely with our Texas partners on aspects associated with trapping. These are our early indications and warnings as far as traps that can detect the movement of the fly. And so we have worked very closely with both of my counterparts at the table here, uh, Texas Park and Wildlife as well as Texas Animal Health to be able to work with those land owners to be able to put the traps where they are needed to help us understand where the fly might go, where it could be, or where it is. And so consequently, the relationship that we have between the three entities is critical for this response, and we appreciate the partnership that we have with them. Sir, >> thank you very much. Next, we have Dr. Oscowis with the Texas Parks and Wildlife. Thank you, Governor. Texas Parks and Wildlife personnel are working in unified command alongside USDA and Texas Animal Health Commission. We currently have our incident command leadership team in Eagle Pass at the Incident Command post. The department will continue to deploy personnel to the area today and tomorrow, consisting of wildlife specialists working alongside our district game wardens to be responsive to needs. We are positioned to ramp up personnel as the situation dictates.

[00:21:30]In the first 48 hours, the department shared relevant information with 26,000 landowner cooperators and permit holders, encouraging them to share the with the department any suspect of New World Screworm.

[00:21:44]The USDA and animal health commission working with Texas Parks and Wildlife were able to get cooperation of nine land owners to deploy the ground release chambers. as was previously mentioned and the department is also working with the USDA's wildlife services to get more surveillance on the ground for wildlife.

[00:22:04]The key here is if you see live animals that you suspect might be infested, please report that sighting to your local Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist or game wardens. Early detection is the key. Do not delay if you suspect a new world screworm infestation. Thank you, Governor.

[00:22:24]>> Thank you very much. Uh, next is Dr. Kaufman with Texas A&M uh, on a lot of issues, including this one. A&M has extraordinary expertise, uh, an extraordinary volume of personnel across the entire state and play a vital role in a response to issues like what we're dealing with right now. So, Dr. Thank you, Governor Abbott, for for uh hosting this event and bringing this to everyone's attention. As you've heard earlier, uh we have a very uh strong team and we have been working together for at least a year and a half to assemble all of the knowledge that we need to battle this pest. We have fought it in the past and we will fight. We are going to continue the fight and we are going to win again. We have the technology. In fact, we have better technology now than we had in the past.

[00:23:26]What Texas&M uh Agri Extension has, our county agents dispersed across the state of Texas. We have a presence in every county in Texas. We have been training our agents in this response and um we also have additional DAR agents that can be brought to to bear in this fight as well.

[00:23:48]We've delivered well over 140 presentations across Texas trying to educate public uh land owners uh wildlife enthusiasts and as well as our our livestock groups.

[00:24:03]We partner with with everyone you have heard uh in this room and I can having been in the state of Florida when we had the outbreak 10 years ago. Uh what I can say is we are much better prepared at this point than we were when that was sprung upon us in Florida.

[00:24:21]Uh I reiterate uh that we really need people to report if they find screwworm larve. any larve on a living animal is a reportable issue. And what that does is lets us mobilize more quickly so that we can get to the animal, provide treatment to it, eliminate those those fly larve from becoming adults and perpetuating the problem. The other issue that that everyone needs to understand is that that this fly moved extensively the last time we had it in Texas. Uh because humans put animals into vehicles and drove them great many miles. If we can stop that, we have a much better chance of keeping this infestation and even eliminating this this initial infestation. Uh our chances increase considerably. Uh we have a we have developed considerable education materials. Those are on our agro life extension website and encourage anyone to to get to those. Several documents have been translated into Spanish and others are on the way. Um and we we will continue to provide education. We also bring the uh power of the research enterprise at Texas A&M. We have some of the best researchers uh in the world and they are most certainly engaged in in this battle. Uh and I would encourage anyone to visit agroifeextension.amu.edu for our educational resources. Thank you.

[00:25:53]>> Thank you very much. Uh next is the acting uh commissioner for department of health services, acting commissioner Garcia. So I obviously what we're dealing with is an issue that impacts wildlife and and livestock, but I want to make sure that the human component, our fellow Texan uh concerns uh are going to be addressed by acting commissioner Garcia.

[00:26:18]>> Thank you, Governor. Uh good morning everyone. Um it's good to be with you. I want to reiterate that the Department of State Health Services has a rigorous meat safety program. Every animal that is uh visually inspected by one of our veterinarians is uh analyzed, reviewed before it is actually put into commerce, both before and after. Texas beef is safe, the food is safe. We want to make sure that everyone knows that the protocols in place by our sister agencies and by USDA.

[00:26:49]Everything knows we know the plan and it will work. The food is good to go. We have trained veterinarians that handle this and we want to make sure that everyone is comfortable. If you have questions, please reach out. You can talk to your healthcare provider or the local health departments in your area.

[00:27:06]>> Thank you very much. Uh we'll take a few questions.

[00:27:09]>> Yeah. When will the new facility go online so that we have that adequate number of sterilized flies?

[00:27:14]>> Sure. Emerald can answer that one.

[00:27:16]>> Thank you, sir. Thank you for your question. So, I want to uh point out a few different facilities that are out there just to make sure that that we're all uh up to speed as far as just fastmoving events right now. So, we have our existing facility in Panama that is pushing out 100 million flies.

[00:27:32]Originally, it was between 20 and 80 flies. It's over max. It's 100 million flies that it's pushing out. We've been using that for quite some time. Uh, in addition to that, USDA has provided funding to Mexico to be able to renovate a fruitfly facility in southern Mexico in Matapa, Mexico, which is now going to be a screworm facility. Mexico has shared with us as recently as a few days ago that continues to be on track to be completed by the end of this month. So, between the end of this month and the end of this year, Mexico projects that an additional 100 million flies will be able to come to play. And so consequently uh these particular flies are are uh are provided as far as the funding that USDA uh gives to Mexico and together we determine what is the best use of the fly. There's a joint agreement between the United States and Mexico to make sure that we address this as a hemisphere issue as opposed to a country issue. Thirdly, and I think that the facility that you're mentioning, ma'am, uh is the facility that's being built at Moore Air Base in southern Texas. That facility is due to come online in November of next year where it will reach phase one or a 100 million flies. One year after that will be an additional 200 million for a total of 300 million sterile flies. So we have the 100 million right now in Panama. We have 100 million that will eventually come on before the end of the year in Mexico. And then next year uh there will be an additional 100 million in Texas and then the following year an additional 200 million. And so consequently as we are looking at these things coming online the secretary as well as the white house has been doing everything we can to expedite this process. US Army Corps of Engineers is running the show as far as the more airbased facility. They have never moved this fast. They have been able to unleash every single lever that would prevent them from moving forward at a very fast rate. That includes being able to address things like environmental requirements, hiring, construction, infrastructure. And so we are doing everything we can to be able to move faster than it's ever been done before.

[00:29:36]The last thing I'll say, ma'am, on that is this this facility at Moore Air Base uh in Mission, Texas is the size of two Costco. In addition to that, the facility is what's called a biocurity laboratory 2 plus or essentially a a uh a um a controlled facility for biological threats. So it adds a little bit new of a dimension as far as what is entailed when you're actually doing the construction.

[00:30:00]>> Is there a with the expedited processes that you will get it online before November of next year.

[00:30:06]>> The governor uh had just uh provided that uh that incentive and so we are going to do everything we can to keep moving faster than anything ever has been. This was projected the plans alone ma'am would expected to be about a year to develop. Those plans were done in a couple of months. So the construction that they're moving is is years ahead of schedule of what was originally projected. And so we're going to work with Texas to do everything we can to move it as fast as possible.

[00:30:33]>> Specifically offered uh any and everybody from Texas A&M, anybody and everybody working in any state agency offering to ensure that construction can be conducted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure that the facility in the state of Texas will be up and running even faster than what is currently scheduled.

[00:30:53]>> How many supplies do you need?

[00:30:55]>> That's an excellent question, sir. uh in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s when we were looking at moving the fly out of southern the United States, the southern part of the United States uh through Mexico through Central America, we needed about 500 million flies a week.

[00:31:11]And so consequently as we are looking at this tick tock this timeline that we're developing um we're taking not just uh those estimates from from decades ago but actually using the science that we have developed in operational practices for decades where we've been holding that fly back at the Darian gap between South America and Central America. And so so we've been doing this a long time and we've been building and developing flies for a long time. We have been pushing out opportunities to be able to look at innovations to do this better, faster, stronger. We had a grand challenge that the secretary had put out in January 21st uh this year and that particular uh that particular entity was happening and we were pushing out that grand challenge announcement. It was over $700 million worth of applications that came to us. We put out the application for hund00 million, $700 million worth of ideas. We are moving fast and we're committed to be able to releasing the results of those particular incidents this summer. And so, so a couple things. Number one, 100 million flies we're doing right now.

[00:32:16]It's going to jump up. It took 500 million in the past. We are looking at building up to that number, but we're also using science and technology and innovation to do whatever we can to make the best use of the flies that we have and hopefully decrease that number.

[00:32:29]>> To build on that, sir, you mentioned that was contained in Panama. Do you know why the darian gap in Panama failed? And two, since the ports were closed, do we know how this made it into Texas?

[00:32:39]>> It's an excellent question, Sarah. And so, so what we do is we're looking at the science. We're looking at, you know, what are we seeing as far as potential movement? Uh, some of the challenges that we've identified previously specifically relates to animal movement.

[00:32:52]And so, consequently, uh, as as I know Dr. Dingis has said, uh, and Dr. Kaufman previously, these flies generally don't fly very far in themselves. When we see these cases moving through Central America uh uh before November 2024, Mexico since November 2024, by and large, the vast majority of the cases are related to people moving animals that are infested. And so the guidance that was put out by the state as far as it is so critical that we look at these things as far as being able to prevent that from happening, that is the true answer for how we can prevent this from from getting worse.

[00:33:29]Can you uh elaborate on your concerns about the speed of the response given that uh in your words this can spread like wildfire?

[00:33:37]>> Sure. Listen, we need the high volume of sterile flies as quickly as possible.

[00:33:42]It's great news that we're getting the volume that we are getting both from Panama as well as soon from Mexico. But listen, it's critical uh that the facility be the new facility that's being constructed in Texas right now uh be completed even faster. Here here's a reality about the cycle of this and and that is this is likely to spread over the course of the summer. During winter months, uh it may kill off the flies or reduce uh their their number. We cannot make it through a second summer. And so what I'm pushing for is to try to get the facility under construction in the state of Texas completed uh by May of next year as opposed to November of next year. And I'm offering any and all assets and resources by the state of Texas to accelerate the completion of that construction project.

[00:34:35]>> Governor, do you know how this has affected the Mexican cattle industry?

[00:34:39]Any indication uh how how that's going over there?

[00:34:42]>> Sure. So I'm going to have to defer to somebody else on that.

[00:34:46]>> Yeah. So we we annually we import about a million and a half head of cattle from from Mexico into our u into the United States to be fed at our feed yards and turned out in our grassland. So um you know the reports are that the the Mexican government or not the government but the the the feed lot industry in Mexico are building increasing their capacity to feed cattle in Mexico and retaining those animals in Mexico and ultimately taking them to to the processing plants that are that are present uh in Mexico.

[00:35:20]Looking at your predictive models that y'all talk about, knowing you have one confirmed case in South Texas, what do you really think the situation is?

[00:35:30]We've got boots on the ground now assessing that situ the the the uh how widespread the the issue is. Uh we've got surveillance traps. Uh we've got three zones set up. um the infested zone and then outside of that 12 miles is the adjacent animal surveillance zone and then we've got a fly surveillance zone up to 120 miles. So we're we're placing surveillance traps out in those areas.

[00:35:59]We've had 101 uh new screw specific uh surveillance traps from Brownsville to Del Rio in place since uh July of last year. We've trapped over uh 55,000 flies in Texas alone and we have not detected a new world screwworm fly as of to date and and we still have we got an infested case but uh we haven't detected any wild type flies in these traps just yet.

[00:36:28]>> We'll take two more questions.

[00:36:30]>> Do you have any sort of cost figure on what what this >> So listen there'll be cost breakdown in in several categories. uh one's going to be the construction of the new facility which is being borne by the federal government. The other is the importation of the sterile flies uh which is being borne by the federal government. Uh the other cost will be all these different state agencies that have reported today.

[00:36:56]Listen, their personnel are highly involved but uh that should be no new cost by the state of Texas. I'll be happy for for the state of Texas to shoulder uh any additional costs that may be necessary that would lead to an acceleration of the construction of that sterile fly facility in South Texas. But we here's the deal. Texas is willing to step up and offer the the the people and and resources of our state to make sure that we accelerate any response to this new world school.

[00:37:24]>> One more folks, >> there's been some criticism from some folks about the speed I've not had the opportunity to see that u that specific piece, but what I can say is uh the speed that has been happening as far as being able to address uh the overall the overall uh situation not just in Mexico, but this particular situation is faster than we've ever seen. And so I'll give you an example. Uh just on this case that Dr. Dingis was talking about within hours we had people on the ground within hours.

[00:38:06]Um within that day we have already moved to be able to have ground release chambers at that spot. So so specifically we have 11 ground release chambers that are pushing out flies.

[00:38:16]This is about 80 to 100,000 flies per ground release chamber. within hours, we have uh adjusted how we are flying our our aerial dispersal across the uh across Mexico and the the 50 mile inward of the Texas border. Uh we were able to pivot that very quickly to be able to also be able to put uh what will be about 4 million flies a week on that particular spot. And so so we've been able to pivot in hours. We we look at this response in the matter of minutes and hours, not in days and weeks. And so consequently, the work that we've been doing with all of our partners at the federal level, whether it's Interior, Centers for Disease Control Prevention, EPA, FDA, everything that you can see on screwworm.gov, it is getting out to the public within hours or minutes. So, for example, the uh the new world screworm playbook is a guide that was developed in conjunction uh with our state partners that is able to tell people, here's the exact thing you do if this happens in your area. We were able to put that out. It's a living document as new information comes in and adjusts.

[00:39:19]Secondly, on screwworm.gov, we also have a list of all of the different emergency use authorizations and other types of things that people can use as products as well as as uh treatments to be able to be out there um before it's available on the market. We're working to put it out there so people can know that it's coming along the lines. And so as far as being able to move quickly, um the federal government is incredibly agile, especially in this response because I mentioned earlier the White House, the secretary said, you know what, we need to do this stronger, faster, better.

[00:39:50]We're going to have one entity that's going to be coordinating all across the way. So that way instead of being able to get to people in weeks or days, we can get to people in hours. And so I actually look at this as a fantastic example of how we've been able to respond overall in the last year and a half just by what's happened in the last couple of days. You bet. We had we had boots on the ground doing targeted outreach in adjacent county there along the river um as of Tuesday and we didn't learn of this case until Tuesday evening. So we just transitioned that into response efforts there.

[00:40:23]>> Agile now but some of the criticism was that federal government proactively this >> we have been providing millions and millions of dollars to Mexico uh as well as other partners to be able to address this as the fly has moved through Mexico. Um we are in a state in the United States that what we did by moving as fast as we did allowed us over a year to prepare for this and so consequently that allows us to do these immediate actions that Dr. Dingis was was just referring to. we were able to quickly be able to provide money to Mexico to do that Matapa facility that I was just talking about. And so that is $20 million that we were able to provide um to Mexico as far as an action plan to be able to address, hey, if you're looking at wildlife surveillance, if you're looking at putting traps out there, how can we do that better? Uh we have looked at uh immediately putting together a a innovative detector dog program that could be utilized at the ports if the ports were open and these types of things. And so as we look at how we are able to to put things out that will be able to address this problem, it is moving faster than any response that have ever happened before as far as this particular issue and definitely faster than we've seen 60s7s and 80s when it was last in the United States.

[00:41:41]Thank you very