AUSTIN, Texas (NewsNation) — Texas Governor Greg Abbott will host a news conference Friday to address “plans to fight back against threats posed by the New World screwworm.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, New World screwworms are an invasive species that burrow fly larvae into fresh wounds of living animals like livestock, pets and occasionally people. The damage they cause can be deadly.

The animal is named after their feeding behavior, with the larvae screwing into the flesh of their victims.

According to Peyton Schuman, senior director of government relations for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, a screwworm outbreak could cost Texas around $1.8 billion in damages to livestock annually.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, says the screwworm flies c

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