It’s like a persistent, unwelcome houseguest that just won’t leave, only this guest is a parasitic fly larva called the New World screwworm, and it threatens not just our homes, but our entire livestock industry. Imagine a tiny, insidious worm burrowing into the flesh of a living animal, causing serious complications, immense suffering, and even death if left unchecked. That’s the reality U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and her team are grappling with, and it’s why she’s making it her personal mission to keep this threat front and center in everyone’s minds. She’s like a vigilant neighborhood watch captain, organizing regular calls to share updates and squash any misinformation that might pop up, because complacency is the screwworm’s best friend.
On June 2nd, Secretary Rollins, joined by Undersecretary Dudley Hoskins, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Associate Administrator Michael Schmoyer, and Texas Animal Health Commission Executive Director Dr. Bud Dinges, hosted one of these crucial calls. Rollins announced that these calls, initially scheduled every other day, might soon rotate to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. Her hope is that these live, up-to-the-minute conversations will serve as a vital lifeline, especially as fresh reports of screwworm cases emerge from Mexico. “We wanted to start doing these regularly because Mexico reported eight new detections of New World screwworm late last week,” she explained, a tone of urgent pragmatism in her voice, noting that these updates were already on the screwworm.gov website.
The most recent case, a 5-year-old goat in Coahuila, Mexico, is particularly alarming. It was discovered a mere 25 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, prompting Rollins to declare, “This is the closest we’ve seen it.” She recounted a previous scare last fall, about 60 miles from the border, where an immediate surge of information and effort helped push the threat back. But this new case, so close to home, necessitates a much more aggressive communication strategy. It’s like a wildfire nearing the edge of a forest; you don’t just watch it, you shout warnings and mobilize resources. This confirmed detection, the closest to date, has put everyone on high alert.
Rollins didn’t mince words, emphasizing that this is a serious threat to “our livestock.” She paint a stark picture: the New World screwworm, a parasitic fly larva, can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, and in extremely rare instances, even humans. While she reassuringly stated that the current risk to public health in the U.S. is “extremely low,” she made it clear that the real danger lies with our animal populations. “The real risk,” she clarified, “is obviously to our livestock and our wildlife population.” This isn’t just about economic damage; it’s about the well-being of countless animals and the livelihoods of those who care for them.
For years, the U.S. and Mexico had celebrated a triumph over this pest. The screwworm was eradicated from the U.S. in 1966 and from Mexico in 1986. Panama had effectively served as a biological barrier, a natural moat, and the strategy was to keep the pest as far away from the U.S. as possible. “The Darien Gap, the dense jungle separating South and Central America, served as both a geographic and a biological barrier,” Rollins elaborated, describing how this natural obstacle limited the movement of people, livestock, wildlife, and commerce, effectively containing the screwworm in South America. It was a testament to the power of geography and a concerted effort.
However, even the strongest natural defenses can be breached. Rollins explained that increased cartel activity and political instability began to erode the control that officials once had over the region. Between January and November 2024, the screwworm’s dominance escalated northward. The economic and political turmoil in Venezuela further exacerbated the movement of the New World screwworm, effectively breaching the biological barrier that had protected North America for decades. This shift forced the USDA to re-evaluate its strategies, beginning in 2025 with changes to the inspection process. Rollins sadly revealed that by May of last year, the USDA was compelled to once again suspend the import of live animals through U.S. ports of entry along the southern border in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Compounding the challenge, Mexico was often unwilling or unable to effectively implement in-country animal movement protocols, and flights carrying sterile flies—a key control measure—couldn’t consistently land and disperse their cargo.
In response to this growing menace, the USDA unveiled its comprehensive five-pronged New World Screwworm strategy in June 2025. This strategy is a carefully constructed battle plan focusing on detection, containment, eradication, preparedness, and sterile fly production. “That strategy spurred us to dramatically increase our involvement inside Mexico,” Rollins announced, highlighting a significant step taken on August 14th of the previous year: a $20 million action plan was signed with Mexico’s equivalent of the USDA, effectively surging funding into the northern part of Mexico. This influx of resources has been instrumental in bolstering surveillance controls, trapping efforts, reporting mechanisms, and enforcement. USDA field teams have been deployed to conduct repeated audits of Mexican operations, ensuring accountability and effectiveness. Millions have also been invested in long-term defenses, including the conversion of a plant into a sterile fly dispersal facility. A new sterile fly production facility is also under construction in south Texas, slated to be the only U.S.-based facility of its kind, a beacon of hope in the fight against this persistent pest.
Rollins didn’t sugarcoat the future: “We will continue to battle this for years to come, and our livestock producers, our ranchers, will struggle as their grandfathers and great-grandfathers did in the 50s and 60s.” It’s a stark reminder that this isn’t a quick fix, but a long-term commitment. Alongside these larger initiatives, detection methods have been significantly ramped up. “By the end of last month, USDA had deployed more than 8,000 traps along the border, examined more than 58,000 fly samples, and inspected more than 19,000 wildlife specimens,” Rollins stated, underscoring the monumental effort. Despite the vast scale of testing, every single sample and specimen examined so far has thankfully tested negative for the New World screwworm. Rollins stressed that the sheer scale and technological prowess of the response have been “unprecedented,” a testament to the dedication of the USDA and its partners in keeping the screwworm out of the U.S.
The discovery of the screwworm-infested goat, while concerning, didn’t catch Rollins off guard. Her intention was to proactively inform, especially “those elected officials and government officials in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, to ensure that you all have the information.” To facilitate this ongoing flow of crucial information, the USDA has established a 24/7 monitored email address and maintains the website, www.screwworm.gov, as the go-to resource for the latest updates, prevention strategies, and a comprehensive “playbook.” This updated New World screwworm response playbook outlines detailed protocols and procedures for precisely the scenario they are preparing for: a breach of the southern border. “We are preparing to implement the very moment the fly makes it into our country,” Rollins declared with unwavering resolve. Should a domestic detection occur, the USDA and relevant state animal health officials will immediately implement quarantines and movement restrictions to contain the spread of the pest, acting swiftly and decisively to protect America’s livestock and wildlife from this formidable foe.