CDC Activates Emergency Operation Center Over Screwworm Outbreak

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has activated a Level 3 emergency response for the New World screwworm following recent detections of the destructive parasite in livestock and other animals in southern Texas and a county in New Mexico.

A Level 3 response is the lowest tier in the CDC’s emergency response framework, the agency said in a statement.

Federal health officials are working alongside the U.S. Department of Agriculture and state authorities to contain the outbreak.

The declaration is an example of the Trump administration’s whole-of-government approach, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Thursday.