The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Monday confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite, in livestock. Two cases were reported in Texas and one in New Mexico, according to the agency's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Details of the New Cases
The two Texas cases affected a calf in La Salle county and a goat in Gillespie county. The service 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, but the dog resides 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 a release.
Response Escalation in Texas
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state's emergency operations center had escalated its response level, deploying more resources to combat the spread of New World screwworm. The parasite is a serious pest that can infest any warm-blooded animal, including livestock, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, humans. The larvae burrow into living tissue, 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 US detection in decades was reported days earlier.
Concerns Over Preparedness
Reuters reported in May 2025 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. A widespread resurgence of New World screwworm now significantly threatens the economy of dominant cattle-producing Texas through animal deaths as well as higher labor and treatment costs.
As the disease moved north for more than a year, the US-Mexico border has been closed to live cattle imports, causing the $100 billion US beef industry to contract to a 75-year low.
