A case of a terrifying flesh-eating worm has been detected in Texas — after the devastating parasitic fly was spotted near the US-Mexico border just last week.
The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed the New World screwworm case in a 3-week-old calf from Zala County, Texas, after larvae were identified in its umbilical area, the agency wrote in a statement.
Another screwworm case — where larvae burrow into the flesh of living animals and decimate livestock — was also confirmed 25 miles south of the Texas border in Mexico’s Coahuila State on Tuesday, Reuters reported.
The USDA and Texas officials are now rushing to contain the parasitic fly by setting up a 20-kilometer infected zone around the area, where quarantines and surveillance measures will be implemented.
Authorities will enact other steps to stop the spread, including increased trapping for New World screwworm flies along the border and targeted outreach in the local area, the USDA said.
The screwworm’s maggots can infest livestock and other warm-blooded animals, including pets, and in rare cases will infest people. The pests typically enter an animal through an open wound and feed on its living flesh, eventually killing the host if left untreated.
The USDA announced on social media earlier on Wednesdaythat it was investigating the possible infestation in South Texas and has submitted a sample to the agency’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Iowa for confirmation.
“All jokes aside this is a serious matter and a time to unite and work together,” Texas Representative Don McLaughlin wrote on X before the confirmation of the case.
“If this case is confirmed I will stand lock step with every local, state and federal agency to work together and fight this horror.”
An outbreak of screwworm could cause a whopping $1.8 billion in damages to Texas’ economy alone and would likely inflate beef prices across the nation by shrinking the cattle supply, experts have said.
The US has closed its border with Mexico to cattle imports for more than a year to try to halt the parasite from reaching the states.
The screwworms do not infest meat, fruits, vegetables, or other food sources — only livestock.
Residents near the reported case should check their pets for signs of the New World screwworm. Though they rarely infest humans, people should seek immediate medical attention if they notice a suspicious lesion, officials urged.
“All models showed New World Screwworm entering the country in 2025; however, thanks to the hard work across the entire Trump administration and our industry, state, and local partners, we were able to buy time for this moment,” Dudley Hoskins, Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said in a statement.
“Protecting our livestock industry is a national security issue of the utmost importance, and USDA is wasting no time in taking action,” Hoskins added.
“USDA invested heavily in the tools needed to eliminate NWS ever since cases started increasing in Central America and Mexico. The United States has defeated this pest before, and we will do it again.”
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