To prevent other animals from being infested, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established a 20-kilometer quarantine zone around where the screwworm was found. A wider \u201csurveillance zone\u201d stretches into the surrounding counties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are looking at building up to that number, but we’re also using science and technology and innovation to do whatever we can to make the best use of the flies that we have and hopefully decrease that number,\u201d said Michael Schmoyer, who leads the USDA\u2019s screwworm directorate.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need a high volume of sterile flies as quickly as possible,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cWhat I’m pushing for is to try to get the facility … completed by May of next year, as opposed to November of next year. I’m offering any and all assets and resources by the state of Texas to accelerate the completion of that construction project.\u201d<\/p>\n More details<\/p>\n Abbott also expanded a state disaster declaration<\/a> June 5, authorizing the use of \u201call available resources of state government to respond to this disaster … [and] accelerate the movement of sterile flies into the state of Texas.\u201d He originally issued the screwworm disaster declaration in January<\/a> after federal officials began tracking the pest\u2019s movements through Mexico in 2024.<\/p>\n Officials emphasized June 5 that while the screwworm poses a serious threat, it is possible to push it out of the state.<\/p>\n \u201cBottom line: Texas is resilient,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cWe have, in the past, prevented as well as eradicated this pest, and we can do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n Texans can report potential screwworm cases in livestock or pets to a veterinarian with the Texas Animal Health Commission<\/a> by calling 1-800-500-8242, the governor said. To report wildlife showing signs of a screwworm infestation, individuals can call the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department<\/a> at 512-389-4505.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a highly treatable condition if your animal does have an infestation,\u201d TAHC Executive Director Bud Dinges said June 5. \u201cWe have many tools in our toolkit today to prevent devastating impacts that we didn’t have before.\u201d<\/p>\n Officials said the screwworm is not expected to cause issues with the food supply chain. The parasite only targets live animals and does not infest meat, fruit or vegetables.<\/p>\n Posted 6:10 p.m. June 4<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed<\/a> June 3 that a case of the New World screwworm<\/a>, a parasitic fly, was detected on a cattle ranch in South Texas.<\/p>\n The case marks the first domestic detection of screwworm in a decade and the first Texas case in approximately 50 years. The flesh-eating parasite is a threat to the state\u2019s $15.5 billion<\/a> cattle industry, which lost more than $132 million due to a 1976 outbreak.<\/p>\n No additional infestations have been identified, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins told reporters around 2 p.m. June 4. Federal and state officials have emphasized that they do not anticipate issues with the food supply chain, as the screwworm only targets live animals and does not infest meat, fruit or vegetables.<\/p>\n However, experts have warned that a larger, prolonged screwworm outbreak could cause a spike in beef prices. A widespread infestation is estimated to cost Texas at least $1.8 billion per year in damages, according to a USDA analysis<\/a> of a 1976 screwworm outbreak.<\/p>\n Keep reading for more details about the June 3 case and the concerns the screwworm presents for the cattle industry.<\/p>\n The New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that is attracted to fresh wounds in live, warm-blooded animals, including cattle, sheep, pets, wildlife and sometimes humans. After a female screwworm fly lays eggs, maggots hatch and burrow into the flesh of living animals, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n The infected animal is a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, the USDA reported<\/a>. The South Texas community is about a one-and-a-half-hour drive from San Antonio and less than an hour from Eagle Pass on the Texas-Mexico border.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a serious animal health threat, particularly for Texas, but it is not a food safety issue and ranchers and landowners should not panic,\u201d Stephen Diebel, president of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, said in a June 3 statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n The USDA established a 20-kilometer \u201cinfested zone\u201d around the detection site with quarantines and movement controls in the area, officials said. There are no other confirmed cases, and more information about the federal and state response to the infestation is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we all work together and follow animal treatment and the movement restriction guidance, there is no reason to believe that this incursion will result in any sort of establishment of the pest,\u201d Rollins said during a June 4 news conference. \u201cIt is really important … for us to contain the pest in the limited area we’re talking about without disrupting too much commerce and too much of our livestock producers’ ability to make a living.\u201d<\/p>\n Zooming in<\/p>\n Federal and state officials told reporters June 4 that the screwworm will not cause any immediate food supply issues, as the case is contained. The New World screwworm feeds on live animals and does not infect meat or other food sources.<\/p>\n \u201cThe food supply is not compromised at all. This is not a disease, it is not a virus,\u201d Rollins said. \u201cOnce that larva is removed and the wound is clean, animals treated early enough will survive, will recover, and will be back to normal.\u201d<\/p>\n Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said he was concerned that Texas beef prices would rise as ranches are quarantined in the infested zone.<\/p>\n \u201cWe already have a shortage of beef,\u201d Miller told Community Impact. \u201cThis is going to create, possibly, a [larger] shortage. Probably, the markets will crash and then afterwards they’re going to spike extremely high, because what will happen is these ranches will get quarantined and they can’t sell the cattle, so that’s less cattle available for the market.\u201d<\/p>\n Miller has criticized the federal government\u2019s response<\/a> to the screwworm threat, urging the USDA to use certain pesticides to kill the flies in addition to existing eradication efforts.<\/p>\n Natalie Stewart, an assistant professor with Texas A&M University\u2019s Department of Agricultural Economics<\/a>, said she did not anticipate changes in the beef supply chain; however, production costs may rise for cattle farms.<\/p>\n \u201cThe significant impact for cattle producers in the short term will be to production costs,\u201d she said in a statement to Community Impact. \u201cAdded production costs will come from the additional time, labor, and medicine needed to closely monitor and treat animals (either preventatively or in response to screwworm detection).\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead<\/p>\n A widespread screwworm outbreak could cost Texas more than $1.8 billion, the USDA estimated in 2024. Texas cattle, sheep and goat producers would face about $732 million in annual losses.<\/p>\n Screwworm was eradicated in the U.S. in 1966, although the parasite reemerged in parts of the country, including in Texas, in the 1970s. A 1976 outbreak in Texas cost the state nearly $330 million, according to the USDA.<\/p>\n U.S. producers have not treated livestock for screwworm in about 40 years. Industry leaders urged Texans to keep a close eye on their livestock, pets and nearby wildlife to ensure the infestation does not spread.<\/p>\n \u201cTexas livestock producers and all Texans must now be vigilant in their efforts to manage and combat the invasive pest,\u201d Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening said in a June 3 statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.communityimpact.com\/uploads\/images\/2026\/06\/05\/427478.jpg\")
The federal government established a 20-kilometer quarantine zone and a larger surveillance zone around where the screwworm was found in Zavala County. (Hannah Norton\/Community Impact)Federal and state agencies are releasing millions of sterile flies in South Texas in attempts to break the screwworm\u2019s reproduction cycle<\/a> and stop the spread. The federal government previously released about 500 million sterile flies per week to fight infestations in the late 20th century, USDA officials said, and about 100 million flies are currently being released weekly.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.communityimpact.com\/uploads\/images\/2026\/06\/05\/427476.jpg\")
Michael Schmoyer, head of the USDA\u2019s screwworm directorate, speaks to reporters about the response to a South Texas screwworm case June 5 in Austin. (Hannah Norton\/Community Impact)A federal facility to breed sterile flies in South Texas is scheduled to open next fall, and Abbott said he hoped to fast-track its construction.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/assets.communityimpact.com\/uploads\/images\/2026\/06\/04\/427291.jpg\")
The USDA confirmed the first U.S. case of New World screwworm June 3 in South Texas. A 3-week-old calf was infested. (Courtesy Michael Miller\/Texas A&M AgriLife Marketing and Communications)The big picture<\/p>\n