US confirms new screwworm cases, as ranchers brace for spread

The U.S. confirmed three additional cases of New World screwworm, raising the total number of cases to five since the first domestic screwworm infestation ​in six decades was found in a Texas calf last week.

New World screwworm is a serious ‌pest that can infest any warm-blooded animal, including livestock, pets, wildlife, and, in rare cases, people. The larvae burrow into the living tissue of animals, causing severe wounds, animal suffering and significant economic losses.

Texas ranchers have been bracing for screwworm to cross into the U.S. for the past ​year, as the pest advanced north in Mexico. Experts have predicted that a widespread outbreak could cost the ​state $1.8 billion in economic damage and devastate wildlife.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant ⁠Health Inspection Service confirmed two additional Texas cases, including infestations in a calf in La Salle County and a goat ​in Gillespie County.

APHIS clarified that a fifth case reported earlier 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, the agency said, but the dog resides at a household in Lea County, New Mexico, which borders Texas.

The second case of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite was confirmed in Texas by the USDA, emerging just miles from where the first U.S. detection in decades was reported last week.

However, local Texas residents and ranchers remain split over whether to trust ⁠the USDA's ​response, with some farmers saying it's too slow or not far-reaching enough, ​while those who lived through the last outbreak said the news has further eroded their trust in the agency, prompting them to search for their own ​solutions.