Tag: New World Screwworm

The flesh-eating New World screwworm has returned to the U.S. Southwest. While Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins blames the previous administration, critics point to early 2025 budget cuts made by the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency that halted critical livestock monitoring.

With a dozen New World screwworm cases detected in the U.S., states like Pennsylvania and West Virginia are implementing strict animal movement restrictions and quarantines to protect livestock from this destructive, flesh-eating parasite.

The USDA has confirmed a case of the flesh-eating New World screwworm in a Texas calf, marking its return after being eradicated in 1966. A second case emerged two days later in another calf about 6 miles from the first detection. By June 8, the tally of affected animals had risen to four, including a goat in Gillespie County, Texas, and a dog in Lea County, New Mexico, classified as the first U.S. case there.

The affected animal, an 8-month-old cow, had recently been transported to a certified feedlot in Nuevo León from southern Mexico, where active screwworm cases are present.

Flesh-eating parasite nears U.S. border, halts livestock trade with Mexico amid rising fears of outbreak and threats to U.S. agriculture.

US halts live animal imports from Mexico to stop deadly New World Screwworm, now less than 1,000 miles from Texas, from crossing the border.