USDA confirms four more cases of the New World screwworm. See where cases have been detected
THE MILITARY HAD REQUIRED THE SHOT SINCE THE EARLY 50S. THE THREAT FROM A NASTY PARASITE NOW INCHING, INCHING, INCHING EVER CLOSER TO THE U.S. BORDER. HEALTH OFFICIALS IN TEXAS SAY THAT THEY ARE NOW ON HIGH ALERT FOR A NEW SIGN OF THE NEW WORLD SCREW WORM. IT’S TRUE. THAT’S WHAT IT’S CALLED. IT’S CALLED SCREWWORM. TODD HAS JOINED US RIGHT HERE FROM SOUTH SHORE. SO QUESTION ONE THAT’S THE FIRST TIME I’VE EVER EVEN SAID THAT ON TELEVISION. SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF IT. IT’S AS NASTY AS IT SOUNDS. IT REALLY IS. AND WHAT’S INTERESTING ABOUT IT IS IT’S NOT A WORM, RIGHT? IT’S A FLY LARVA. THINK OF IT LIKE FLY MAGGOTS. AND WHAT THESE CAN DO IS THEY CAN GET INTO WOUNDS, MOSTLY OF CATTLE, RIGHT? LIVESTOCK. AND THEY CAN, THEY CAN JUST THEY BURROW IN AND THEY CAN KILL THE ANIMAL THROUGH THAT. OCCASIONALLY HUMANS CAN GET INFECTED, BUT IT’S MOSTLY A PROBLEM WITH CATTLE. AND IT WAS A PROBLEM IN THE, YOU KNOW, THE 30S, 40S, 50S BEFORE WE FIGURED OUT WAYS OF PREVENTING IT IN THE UNITED STATES. SO, SO YOU SAY OCCASIONALLY. SO. BUT IF SOMEONE HAS, HOW DO YOU TREAT INFECTIONS IN PEOPLE, FOR EXAMPLE? RIGHT. WELL, FIRST YOU HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, FIGURE IT OUT. AND IF YOU SEE MAGGOTS, ESPECIALLY IN WOUNDS OR IN WOUNDS, OR IF YOU SEE IF YOU FEEL SOMETHING CRAWLING INSIDE, THEN OR HAVE A BAD ODOR, THEN YOU WANT TO GO SEEK HELP. WHAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO DO IS REMOVE THE MAGGOTS. SOMETIMES YOU NEED, YOU KNOW, SURGICAL EXCISION. JUST REMOVE THEM. SO, SO WHAT CAN HEALTH OFFICIALS DO TO TRY TO STOP THIS SCREWWORM FROM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, TEXAS, NOW WE’RE A FEW MILES AWAY FROM TEXAS. HOW DO WE PREVENT THE SPREAD UP TO HERE? OKAY, SO FIRST OF ALL, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CASES IN THE UNITED STATES IN DECADES DOMESTIC. IT WAS ONE THAT WAS IMPORTED LAST YEAR. BUT WHAT’S AMAZING IS THAT SCIENTISTS, ENTOMOLOGISTS, RIGHT. THOSE ARE THE THOSE ARE INSECT SCIENTISTS. THEY FIGURED OUT MANY DECADES AGO THAT THE FEMALE SCREWWORM FLY ONLY MATES ONCE IN THEIR LIFETIME. SO IF YOU CAN SEND OUT MILLIONS OF STERILIZED MALE FLIES, THEN WHEN THEY MATE, THE. THEY CAN’T REPRODUCE IN. THE POPULATION DIES. AND THAT’S WHY WE HAVEN’T HEARD OF CASES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR DECADES. SCRATCHING MY HEAD TO FIGURE OUT. FIRST OF ALL, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE MALE. WHAT THE MALE ONES ARE? AND SECOND OF ALL, HOW DO YOU STERILIZE THEM? RIGHT. THE WAY THAT. SO ONE SCIENTIST FIGURED OUT THE CONCEPT AND THEN DECADES LATER, THE SCIENTIST REALIZED, IF YOU IRRADIATE THE THE KIND OF THE MIDDLE AGED FORM OF THIS FLY, THEY CAN SURVIVE BUT CAN’T REPRODUCE. AND THEN THEY’RE ABLE TO ACTUALLY, YOU CAN SEE UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT THAT THEY CAN COLOR CODE. SO YOU CAN SEE WHICH ONES ARE ACTUALLY STERILE. IT’S IT’S AMAZING. IT’S AMAZING SCIENCE, RIGHT? AND YOU HAVE ENLIGHTENED ME. I HAVE SHAYNA, I HAVE, IT’S WONDERFUL. IT’S GREAT TO SEE YOU. SHAYNA. THERE WE GO. THE SCREWWORM WE’RE TALKING ABOUT MAGGOTS AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT NEUTERING FLIES. THE HIGHER YOU GO, YOU GOT EVERYTHING HERE TO KEEP UP. WE HAVE TO KEEP OUR CATTLE SAFE. WE HAVE TO KEEP. YOU KNOW, THAT’S IM
USDA confirms four more cases of the New World screwworm. See where cases have been detected
Updated: 12:27 PM PDT Jun 9, 2026
The Department of Agriculture confirmed on Tuesday four additional detections of the New World screwworm in Texas and New Mexico, bringing the total number of cases to six.The four new cases were found in two cattle in La Salle, Texas, a dog in Lea County, New Mexico and a goat in Gillespie, Texas, the agency reported. The USDA originally reported the dog to originate from Andrews, Texas but it was a Texas veterinarian who reported the case. The dog resides in a Lea County household and was reclassified as a case from New Mexico. The flesh-eating parasite fly was first identified last Wednesday in the umbilical area of a 3-week-old calf in Zavala, Texas. The New World screwworm, which is not a worm but a flesh-eating parasite fly, feeds on warm-blooded animals and, in rare cases, people. It can cause serious damage to the already low stock of cattle in the U.S. and lead to economic losses.The USDA said it eradicated the screwworm in 1966. But last year, the agency closed southern border ports to livestock trade after the fly began spreading in Mexico. The Get the Facts Data Team is tracking when and where new cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
The Department of Agriculture confirmed on Tuesday four additional detections of the New World screwworm in Texas and New Mexico, bringing the total number of cases to six.
The four new cases were found in two cattle in La Salle, Texas, a dog in Lea County, New Mexico and a goat in Gillespie, Texas, the agency reported.
The USDA originally reported the dog to originate from Andrews, Texas but it was a Texas veterinarian who reported the case. The dog resides in a Lea County household and was reclassified as a case from New Mexico.
The flesh-eating parasite fly was first identified last Wednesday in the umbilical area of a 3-week-old calf in Zavala, Texas.
The New World screwworm, which is not a worm but a flesh-eating parasite fly, feeds on warm-blooded animals and, in rare cases, people. It can cause serious damage to the already low stock of cattle in the U.S. and lead to economic losses.
The USDA said it eradicated the screwworm in 1966. But last year, the agency closed southern border ports to livestock trade after the fly began spreading in Mexico.
The Get the Facts Data Team is tracking when and where new cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed.