USDA Confirms 6 New World Screwworm Cases in Texas Cattle as Quarantine Response Expands
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 13
USDA Confirms 6 New World Screwworm Cases in Texas Cattle as Quarantine Response Expands
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 13
Summary
Six New World screwworm cases had been confirmed in Texas by June 11, up from the June 3 identification of larvae in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County.
USDA has deployed an APHIS strike team, begun releasing sterile male flies and set a livestock movement-control zone to contain the flesh-eating parasite.
The outbreak threatens livestock, pets and wildlife and could push beef prices higher, though officials said screwworms do not make meat unsafe to eat.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said USDA relied too heavily on sterile-fly releases as the pest moved 1,100 miles through Mexico, urging President Donald Trump to deploy additional SWASS suppression measures.
The U.S. eradicated screwworm in 1966, but after suspending southern-border cattle, horse and bison imports in May 2025, officials are again mobilizing state land and federal resources to prevent a wider agricultural outbreak.