The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the detection (June 3, 2026) of a New World screwworm (NWS) in a bovine in Zavala County, Texas. NWS is a serious pest that affects livestock, pets, wildlife, and less commonly, people and birds. NWS larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of living animals, causing serious damage to livestock and economic losses. The affected animal is a 3-week-old calf and larvae were identified in its umbilical area. To date, there have been no further detections.
R-CALF USA CEO Bill Bullard issued the following statement in response:
“This confirmation marks a serious moment for American livestock producers and requires an immediate, coordinated response to protect animal health, the national cattle herd, America’s livestock producers, and our nation’s food supply. We now switch from prevention to eradication. Producers need to be intensely vigilant in monitoring their livestock and reporting suspected cases to their veterinarian. We must push this pest back to Mexico and then continue efforts to push it back to Central America.”
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) CEO Colin Woodall issued this response to the announcement:
“NCBA and our state partner organizations have been working for more than a year to combat the incursion of the New World Screwworm, and we are doing everything possible to protect the interests of American cattle producers. We appreciate USDA and other agencies for working rapidly to bolster critical resources that protect producers, including building a domestic sterile fly facility, increasing fly surveillance, and expediting the availability of necessary drugs and treatments for cattle. We defeated this harmful pest before in the 1960s by investing heavily in sterile fly dispersal and NCBA will continue using every tool in the toolbox to ensure Screwworm is eradicated in the U.S. once again.”
|
National Milk Producers Federation President & CEO Gregg Doud issued the following response:
The return of New World screwworm to the United States decades after its initial eradication is a disappointing milestone, but it’s also one for which dairy producers have been preparing for more than a year, in collaboration with USDA and across agriculture. It’s important to remember that this development has no effect on food safety, and that measures to combat both the screwworm and its spread are in place and time-tested. We appreciate the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s proactive efforts to prepare for this moment, and we stand ready to work with the department to address any ongoing challenges.
Now that USDA has confirmed that screwworm is here, dairy farmers and all livestock producers pledge
We also urge officials to follow scientific guidance in any decisions affecting animal movements and regulatory responses to avoid causing economic harm that could be greater than the screwworm itself. We also ask that adequate resources be provided to combat this problem, which causes suffering in animals and creates risk for producers.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
Comments