The U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS)<\/a> announced Wednesday that the parasite was found in a calf in Zavala County, located in South Texas near the Mexican border. The agency says it is already working with state and local officials to contain the infestation and prevent it from spreading.<\/p>\nWhat is the New World screwworm?<\/p>\n
Despite its name, the New World screwworm is not actually a worm. It is the larval stage of a fly that lays eggs in open wounds or body openings of warm-blooded animals.<\/p>\n
Once the eggs hatch, the larvae burrow into living tissue and feed on flesh, causing painful and potentially deadly infections if left untreated. The pest can affect livestock, pets, wildlife, birds and, in rare cases, humans.<\/p>\n
The parasite was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s through a large-scale sterile fly program, although a small outbreak occurred in Florida in 2016 and was quickly eliminated.<\/p>\n
Why Texans should care<\/p>\n
Texas has the largest cattle industry in the nation, and experts warn that a widespread outbreak could have significant economic consequences for ranchers and consumers alike.<\/p>\n
Federal officials have already established quarantine zones, increased surveillance efforts, and begun releasing sterile flies to stop the pest from becoming established in the United States.<\/p>\n
The discovery comes after the parasite steadily moved north through Central America and Mexico over the past several years, prompting growing concern among agriculture officials.<\/p>\n
What about Houston?<\/p>\n
There have been no reported screwworm cases in the Houston area, and officials stress that the current detection is limited to a single calf in South Texas.<\/p>\n
Still, Houston\u2019s large population of pet owners, horse owners, and backyard animal enthusiasts may want to stay informed as state and federal agencies monitor the situation.<\/p>\n
Experts recommend checking animals for unusual wounds that appear to be getting larger, draining excessively, or attracting flies. Pet owners and livestock producers should contact a veterinarian immediately if they suspect an infestation.<\/p>\n
Is the food supply at risk?<\/p>\n
USDA officials say the parasite does not contaminate meat or other food products. The primary concern is animal health and the potential economic impact if the pest spreads among livestock populations.<\/p>\n
For now, officials are emphasizing rapid response measures and say there is no evidence of widespread infestation in Texas. Surveillance and containment efforts remain underway.<\/p>\n
A flesh-eating parasite that was eliminated from the U.S. decades ago has been detected in a Texas calf, prompting an aggressive federal response. While there is no immediate threat to Houston residents, officials are urging Texans, especially livestock and pet owners, to remain vigilant as crews work to prevent the New World screwworm from gaining a foothold in the state.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Federal officials have confirmed the presence of the New World screwworm in Texas, marking the first U.S. detection…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322705,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[115442,115446,115447,5877,115445,27,115443,29,28,115444],"class_list":["post-322704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-animal-wound-infestation","tag-flesh-eating-parasite","tag-livestock-health-texas","tag-new-world-screwworm","tag-screwworm-prevention","tag-texas","tag-texas-cattle-industry","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news","tag-usda-screwworm-response"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322704"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322704\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}