The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed the first case of New World screwworm (NWS) in American livestock in nearly six decades, sparking an immediate nationwide emergency response to protect the multibillion-dollar cattle industry.
The screwworms were found in a 3-week-old calf on a ranch in La Pryor, Zavala County, Texas, roughly 50 miles north of the Mexican border.
Larvae were found infesting the animal’s umbilical area.
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the case on Wednesday after samples were tested at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the situation as one the Trump Administration is treating with “the utmost seriousness.”
Rollins said, “We are treating the confirmed case of New World Screwworm on a Texas cattle ranch with the utmost seriousness and are responding aggressively alongside our state partners, TAHC (Texas Animal Health Commission). USDA’s proactive actions bought us nearly a year to prepare, as models had projected New World Screwworm would reach the United States by the summer of 2025. That preparation allowed us to move immediately when this case was detected.”
WATCH:
We are treating the confirmed case of New World Screwworm in a Texas cattle ranch with the utmost seriousness and are responding aggressively alongside our state partners @TAHC.
USDA’s proactive actions bought us nearly a year to prepare, as models had projected New World… pic.twitter.com/Ws5ceLc9ew
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) June 4, 2026
New World screwworm is the larval stage of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly.
Unlike ordinary blowflies that feed only on dead tissue, female screwworm flies lay hundreds of eggs in any open wound, cut, or mucous membrane of warm-blooded animals, including cattle, horses, deer, goats, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, humans or birds.
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae use hook-like mouthparts to burrow deep into living flesh, feeding aggressively and causing massive tissue destruction, secondary infections, and extreme pain.
Left untreated, a single infestation can kill a cow in as little as a few weeks.
The parasite does not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or processed food products, so the nation’s commercial food supply remains safe under USDA inspection protocols.
The USDA has activated its pre-prepared New World Screwworm Response Playbook.
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has established an infested zone covering parts of Zavala and Uvalde counties. All warm-blooded animals in the zone are under quarantine and cannot move without prior authorization from TAHC.
Additionally, millions of sterilized male flies that mate with wild females, producing non-viable eggs and crashing the population, are being released in the area.
No additional cases have been detected as of Thursday.
The post Flesh-Eating Screwworm Confirmed in Texas Calf, First U.S. Livestock Case in 60 Years Triggers Emergency Quarantine appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.