Dreaded Screwworm Is Detected 60 Miles From Texas
An adult New World screwworm fly sits at rest in this undated photo. (Denise Bonilla/U.S. Department of Agriculture via AP)
A dangerous livestock parasite has been found closer to the U.S. than officials would like, raising alarms in Texas. State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said a young calf in Nuevo León, Mexico—about 60 miles from the South Texas border—has been confirmed with New World screwworm. This is now the most northern case currently active in Mexico. An earlier case surfaced in the same region back in September, and before that, infections in cattle had been reported much farther away—roughly 370 miles from the border.
According to Miller, the infected animal was located inside an area where authorities are already working to stop the pest’s spread by releasing sterilized flies. Federal officials are currently dispersing around 100 million of these sterile screwworm flies every week as part of the containment effort. Plans are underway to expand that operation significantly. Construction has begun on a new facility at Moore Air Base near Edinburg, Texas, a joint effort involving the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Once operational, the site is expected to produce 100 million sterile flies per week starting in November 2027, with the capacity to increase to 300 million weekly.
The screwworm poses a serious threat because its flies deposit eggs in open wounds on animals. Once hatched, the larvae feed on living tissue, which can cause severe injury or death in livestock. Because of the risk, the U.S. has halted livestock imports from Mexico along the border. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has indicated that Texas ports will remain closed to such imports until the parasite is pushed significantly farther south.
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