A flesh-eating worm from the 1960s is re-invading the U.S. Are CA cattle at risk?
Key takeaways
- Officials anticipated the arrival of screwworm in the United States and say they’re prepared to contain it.
- That’s because a screwworm larva “attacks living flesh,” Talbot said.
- Department of Agriculture confirmed the detection of New World screwworm in the umbilical area of a bovine in Zavala County, Texas, more than 60 miles from the northern Mexico border.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, center, at the opening of a New World screwworm sterile fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas, to combat the northward spread of the flesh-eating parasite. (Eric Gay / Associated Press) By Karen Garcia Staff Writer Follow June 6, 2026 3 AM PT 9 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Federal agricultural inspectors detected a case of New World screwworm larvae — maggots that burrow into the flesh of living animals and sometimes humans — on a 3-week-old calf in south Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border. Officials anticipated the arrival of screwworm in the United States and say they’re prepared to contain it.
New World screwworm, also known as Cochliomyia hominivorax, is starkly different from the average maggot that feeds on decaying organic matter such as garbage, rotting food or dead animals, said Tom Talbot, veterinarian and member of the California Cattlemen’s Assn.