{"id":331582,"date":"2026-06-11T03:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/331582\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T03:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T03:24:08","slug":"texas-confirms-five-new-world-screwworm-cases-sets-infested-zones-to-contain-spread","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/331582\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas confirms five new world screwworm cases, sets infested zones to contain spread"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The New World screwworm outbreak in Texas has reached five confirmed cases, prompting state agencies to establish infested zones aimed at containing the parasite\u2019s spread.<\/p>\n<p>Federal help is now involved as officials respond to the threat posed by the parasite, whose fly larvae burrow into the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, causing severe tissue damage and potential death. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe know this development is a serious threat,&#8221; U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said. &#8220;We\u2019ve increased the trapping for flies along the border and ramping up surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Animal Health Commission has established four 12.5-mile infested zones where officials believe the parasite is located and reproducing. The closest zone to Austin is Zone 3, which includes Gillespie, Kerr, and Kimble counties.<\/p>\n<p>Zone 3 was created after New World screwworm was found in a goat in Harper, Texas, on Monday. Rollins also said, \u201cOver the past week and a half, USDA has confirmed 6 cases of the new world screw worm within the US, all but 1 in the South, uh, South of Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cbsaustin.com\/news\/local\/new-world-screwworm-case-confirmed-in-texas-bringing-total-of-cases-in-the-us-to-six\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ALSO| New World Screwworm case confirmed in Texas, bringing total of cases in the U.S. to six<\/a><\/p>\n<p>State officials say the zones are used to prevent the spread of the parasite and restrict the movement of livestock and other warm-blooded animals through the area.<\/p>\n<p>In Fredericksburg, some residents said the infested zone is a necessary step. Joan Smith, who lives in Fredericksburg, said, \u201cIt\u2019s a good thing to protect people. It needs to be done.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Smith said pet owners should take precautions and consult their veterinarians. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of our neighbors, we called our local veterinarians. They told us as long as we were using certain medications, your pet is covered,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Definitely talk to your local veterinarians because they can update you.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Some businesses in the area said the county\u2019s infested-zone label is not expected to impact tourism this summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New World screwworm outbreak in Texas has reached five confirmed cases, prompting state agencies to establish infested&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":331583,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-331582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331582","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=331582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/331582\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=331582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=331582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=331582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}