US confirms new screwworm cases, as ranchers brace for spread

The U.S. confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm on Monday, raising the total number of cases to five since the first domestic screwworm infestation in six decades was found in a Texas calf last week. 

New World screwworm is a serious pest that can infest any warm-blooded animal, including livestock, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, people. The larvae burrow into the living tissue of animals, causing severe wounds, animal suffering and significant economic losses.

Texas ranchers have been bracing for screwworm to cross into the U.S. for the past year, as the pest advanced north in Mexico. Experts have predicted that a widespread outbreak could cost the state $1.8 billion in economic damage and devastate wildlife. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed two additional Texas cases, including infestations in a calf in La Salle County and a goat in Gillespie County. 

APHIS clarified that a fifth case reported earlier on Monday in a dog in Andrews County would be reclassified as the first case detected in New Mexico. The veterinarian who reported the case is located in Texas, the agency said, but the dog resides at a household in Lea County, New Mexico, which borders Texas.

“This situation is evolving, and we expect new information to emerge as our investigation continues," said Dudley Hoskins, USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, in the release. 

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at a Monday press conference in Kerrville, Texas, that the agency will soon begin announcing recipients of awards from a $100 million fund for screwworm technologies announced last year.  

Rollins, who spoke alongside Texas Governor Greg Abbott, said she would travel on Thursday to Zavala County, Texas, where the first screwworm case was identified.

"We now know what the enemy looks like," she said, standing in front of posters that read "War On Screwworm." 

Reuters reported last year that hundreds ​of veterinarians, support staff and lab workers at the animal health arm of the USDA had left after the Trump administration pushed for resignations, leaving fewer specialists to respond to animal disease outbreaks and adding to concerns about preparedness.

Rollins said those staff departures were not affecting the screwworm response. 

"There has been zero impact to this mission area, specifically to the screwworm, based on that reduction in force," she said. 

The second case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite was confirmed in Texas by the USDA on Friday, emerging just miles from where the first U.S. detection in decades was reported last week.

However, local Texas residents and ranchers remain split over whether to trust the USDA's response, with some farmers saying it's too slow or not far-reaching enough, while those who lived through the last outbreak said the news has further eroded their trust in the agency, prompting them to search for their own solutions.