Texas is fighting back against a flesh-eating pest. Gov. Greg Abbott launched a new website and a big new facility this week. Both are meant to help ranchers and families deal with the New World screwworm.

The screwworm is a fly larva. It digs into open wounds on live animals and eats their flesh. It can kill an animal in days if left alone. The U.S. had not seen it in large numbers since a small outbreak in Florida in 2017. Now it is back. The USDA shows 16 confirmed cases. That is 15 in Texas and one in New Mexico.

Abbott put up a new website at screwworm.texas.gov. The site has maps of infected zones and the USDA case count. It has fact sheets and videos too. Ranchers and vets can use the site to report a case. Free Certified Inspector Training is also listed there.

"This new website puts essential tools in the hands of our producers, veterinarians and families," Abbott said.

Texas has also called a statewide disaster. That lets state agencies move faster and get more help where it is needed.

The big news for the Rio Grande Valley is a $750 million facility coming to Moore Air Base in Edinburg. The plan is to make 300 million sterile flies per week there. Sterile flies are flies that cannot have babies. When they mate with screwworm flies in the wild, no eggs hatch. Over time, this wipes out the pest with no chemicals. The same method got rid of the screwworm in the U.S. back in the 1960s. It worked then. It will work again.

The Edinburg facility is a huge win for South Texas. It will bring jobs in construction and science to Hidalgo County. Gov. Abbott and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins made the announcement together.

Abbott also set up a joint New World Screwworm Response Team. The team has state agencies, ranchers, vets, wildlife experts, and federal partners all working together.

The USDA also approved new medicine to treat screwworm in dogs and cats. Pet owners now have a way to fight back if their animals are hit.

Ranchers in Starr, Hidalgo, Cameron, and Willacy counties need to act now. South Texas is prime screwworm country. The warm weather and large numbers of cattle, goats, and other animals make the Valley a target.

A bad outbreak can cost local families thousands of dollars in dead or sick animals. Ranching drives the rural South Texas economy. The threat is real.

Here is what to do right now. Check your animals for open wounds. Screwworm larvae look like small cream-colored worms inside a wound. They move. If you see them, do not wait. Go to screwworm.texas.gov and report it.

The free inspector training on the site is quick to finish. If you have livestock or pets, sign up. Fast reports mean a faster response from the state.

Go to screwworm.texas.gov for maps, videos, the USDA case tracker, and the report tool.