Screwworm Cases Rise in Texas

The New World screwworm has now been confirmed in multiple Texas counties, turning what was once a distant threat into a very real concern for ranchers, wildlife managers, and animal owners alike. State and federal officials are scrambling to contain the outbreak through quarantines, surveillance, and movement controls, while political tensions are already emerging over how aggressively cases should be reported and managed.
This is exactly why biosecurity matters. A flesh-eating parasite doesn't care about politics, agency turf wars, or personal inconvenience—it only cares about finding its next host. The faster everyone reports infections and works from the same playbook, the better our chances of protecting the cattle industry, wildlife populations, and rural communities from a problem that becomes exponentially harder to solve once it gains a foothold.

NOTE: this post was originally an email, sent to us via Texas Monthly on June 10th, 2026.

The number of confirmed New World screwworm cases in Texas has risen to four as officials work to stop the spread of the invasive pest that could decimate the U.S. cattle industry. 

The initial case, found in a young South Texas calf, was reported last week. This week, cases were also reported in a second calf in Zavala County, a calf in La Salle County, and a goat in Gillespie County. An infection in a dog reported by a West Texas vet was reclassified as a New Mexico case given the pet’s state of residence. 

Amid the rise in cases, Canada has banned Texas livestock imports to prevent infection there. President Trump has appointed Texas A&M regent John Bellinger to oversee the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s screwworm-preparedness efforts. Already, 75 people from the USDA and the Texas Animal Health Commission have been deployed to affected areas to help quarantine animals and surveil the outbreak. Meanwhile, Texas agriculture commissioner Sid Miller said he wouldn’t report a screwworm infection if he discovered one in his animals in order to avoid their being quarantined. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins called it “a very unserious comment from a perhaps unserious ag commissioner.”