USDA Confirms Three Additional Cases of Screwworm in the United States

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm, including two in Texas, according to the agency’s animal health arm.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service said the two Texas cases affected 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.

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.

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.

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.

(Reporting by Anushree Mukherjee and Anjana Anil in Bengaluru and Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Louise Heavens and Aurora Ellis)

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