{"id":705747,"date":"2026-06-15T16:15:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/705747\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:15:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:15:05","slug":"screwworm-gains-toehold-the-united-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/705747\/","title":{"rendered":"Screwworm Gains Toehold the United States"},"content":{"rendered":"

The New World Screwworm (NWS)<\/a>, which devastated wildlife populations and the Lone Star State\u2019s livestock industry 60 year ago<\/a>, has established two beachheads in Texas. On June 3 the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)<\/a> confirmed the detection of NWS\u2014an insect that lays eggs that hatch into flesh-eating larvae\u2014in the umbilical area of a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. Two days later, and 6.5 miles away, officials detected a second borderline breach in a month-old calf.<\/p>\n

\u201cUSDA has responded expediently with respect to this second detection, demonstrating our utmost preparedness,\u201d said Dudley Hoskins, USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs. \u201cThis second detection is within the established movement control zone and enhanced sterile\u00a0insect dispersal area. Many models projected this pest would reach the United States last year, but thanks to USDA\u2019s phenomenal work and our cooperation with state, federal, and industry partners,\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0held it off until now\u2014when we are far more prepared to respond. USDA has not wasted any time in this fight,\u00a0we have\u00a0defeated New World screwworm before, and we will do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the successful delay and confidence the invasion can be repelled, Canada quickly announced a temporary ban on importing certain livestock from Texas. \u201cCows and horses that were in Texas anytime within 21 days before crossing the border into Canada would not be accepted into the country, an agency news release said,\u201d the British Broadcasting Corporation<\/a> reported. The policy is being enforced in an abundance of safety, despite relative uncertainty as to how well NWS\u2014a Central America and Caribbean native\u2014spreads in colder climates.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On June 5, a state of disaster was declared in the Lone Star State that read, \u201c\u2026I, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, do hereby certify that the spread of NWS northward from Mexico into Texas threatens Texas\u2019 wildlife and livestock industry and economy and poses an imminent threat or occurrence of widespread and severe property damage, and pursuant to Section 418.014, Texas Government Code, do hereby declare a state of disaster for all Texas counties.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked if NWS was coming to the neighboring Land of Enchantment State, a veterinarian with the New Mexico Livestock Board told a reporter from the Sante Fe New Mexican<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s too early to tell, but it\u2019s never too early to make people aware of the concern and what to look for.\u201d She also cautioned that wildlife and livestock are not the only potential victims. The common-housefly resembling flesh-eating larvae can also affect domestic animals\u2014i.e., cats and dogs.<\/p>\n

Readers are encouraged to visit the USDA NWS website<\/a> for complete details. It also has information of interest to hunters here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The New World Screwworm (NWS), which devastated wildlife populations and the Lone Star State\u2019s livestock industry 60 year…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":705748,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,304749,72189,3,23757,298683,304750,1022,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-705747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-guy-sagi","tag-new-world-screwworm","tag-news","tag-nws","tag-screwworm","tag-screwworm-update","tag-texas","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/705748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}