UMVA has learned that a highly contagious and devastating outbreak of the New World screwworm has struck Texas livestock for the first time in decades, sending shockwaves through the already beleaguered cattle industry.
The parasite, whose larvae burrow into the flesh of warm-blooded animals and feed on living tissue, poses a major threat to livestock, wildlife, and potentially pets, raising serious concerns about the potential for widespread devastation.
According to information obtained by UMVA, the first case was detected in early June in a calf in Zavala County, Texas, and since then, additional cases have been confirmed in cattle and a goat in Texas, as well as in a dog in New Mexico.
The USDA has initiated a comprehensive investigation, including inspection of additional animals in the affected areas and increased outreach to local communities, in an effort to contain the outbreak and prevent further spread.
The U.S. cattle industry is already reeling from a perfect storm of challenges, including droughts, high feed costs, and low herd numbers, and the added expense of increased monitoring, quarantine measures, and treatment for infected animals is expected to further strain operations.
UMVA can exclusively reveal that a critical domestic sterile fly production facility, which is crucial to combating the screwworm, remains years away from full operation, leaving authorities scrambling to contain the outbreak.
The facility, under construction at Moore Air Base in Texas, is not expected to begin producing sterile flies until November 2027, with full capacity not anticipated for several years, leaving the USDA to rely on existing inventory from Panama and Mexico to support containment efforts.
Quarantines have been placed in multiple Texas counties, and surveillance efforts have been expanded to prevent the spread of the parasite, while Canada has implemented temporary restrictions on certain livestock imports from Texas as a precaution.
The USDA has urged the public to be vigilant, warning that while human cases are rare, anyone suspecting they may have contracted screwworm should seek immediate medical attention if they notice a suspicious lesion on their body.
