Political Blame Game Follows as Screwworm Parasite Threatens Cattle in Texas
Federal officials say sterile fly releases are being expanded as Texas tracks five confirmed cases and quarantines infested counties.
- On Wednesday, June 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed five cases of the New World screwworm in Texas, triggering an expanded quarantine across designated "infested zones" spanning seven counties.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins blamed "weak" border policies for the parasite's return, while Democrats linked the outbreak to over 20,000 USDA workforce reductions since the Trump administration took office.
- To contain the spread, the USDA deploys 4 million sterile flies by air and 4 million by ground weekly within 20 kilometers of reported infestations, with an additional 90 million deployed across the broader response area.
- Canada has temporarily halted livestock imports from Texas as the outbreak threatens the U.S. cattle industry, while the USDA estimated response costs exceeding over $1 billion.
- A warming planet is complicating containment efforts, as experts warn climate change expands the parasite's range northward, driving international cooperation to push the population back to the containment zone in Panama.
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The Real News
ussanews.comScrewworm parasite ‘no longer contained in Texas’ as Trump USDA doubles down on efforts to blame Biden
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on June 09, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license. The Trump administration has emphasized in recent days that the New World screwworm infection found in a calf in Texas did not pose a threat to the United States’ larger cattle herd, which is at its lowest point in 75 years due largely to drought conditions—but the US Department of Agriculture is now acknowledgi…
Texas Officials Issue Blame Game For Screwworm
Earlier this year, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was sounding the alarm on a potential crisis for the state. Miller was specifically warning about the threat of the New World screwworm, and that it was only a matter of time before it crossed from the Mexican border into Texas.Miller’s warning proved prophetic. This month, there have been several cases of the New World screwworm found in Texas cattle. The screwworm, which is technical…
New screwworm case confirmed in Texas
A sixth case of New World screwworm has been confirmed in a Texas calf. It’s the second calf in La Salle County, Texas, to become infested with the parasite that threatens wildstock with larvae that burrows deep into the tissue of its inhabitant, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Officials in the Lone Star...
Seven Texas Counties Quarantined Over Screwworm
San Antonio’s CBS affiliate reports: A quarantine has been put in place for seven south Texas counties after officials confirmed cases of New World screwworm, a parasite that poses a significant threat to livestock and other warm-blooded animals. The Texas Animal Health Commission announced that quarantine zones have been established in parts of Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Uvalde, Webb and Zavala counties. Under executive orders issued by…
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