KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Two more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping the spread of a pest that could potentially devastate the nation's cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday.
The screwworm is actually a fly, which produces a larva that eats live flesh instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds of any warm-blooded animal such as cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested.
The USDA said the new cases were found in a calf and a dog, hundreds of miles apart in La Salle and Andrews counties. That brings the total number of confirmed cases to four. The screwworm was first discovered in a 3-week-old calf last week, and a second case was found only miles away in a young calf.
“While we address these instances that require immediate attention, and continue to sample suspected cases, we are simultaneously working to eradicate the pest entirely,” Dudley Hoskins, the USDA's marketing and regulatory undersecretary, said in a statement.
Before it was eliminated in the U.S. in the 1960s, the fly was an annual warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers.
The USDA and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an infestation since the pest was detected in Mexico late in 2024 after decades of being contained at the southern end of Panama.
The government fights the fly by breeding sterile male flies, which then mate with wild females that only mate once in their monthslong life. By mating with sterile flies, the females don't produce more flies and outbreaks can eventually be halted.
The USDA has announced plans to increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. while it builds a fly factory in Texas.
More from the USDA:
Trump Administration Announces Texas Cattleman and Food Safety Entrepreneur, John Bellinger, as Senior Advisor New World Screwworm Preparedness
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 8, 2026 — Today U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced President Donald J. Trump has appointed John Bellinger as the new Senior Advisor for New World Screwworm Preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will integrate into USDA’s team to help further drive its robust effort to explore all available technologies to combat the New World Screwworm.
“I want to thank John for joining our team as USDA transitions to the next phase of fighting and eradicating this pest from our borders, as we did nearly sixty years ago, yet it came back due to Biden’s failed open border policies,” said Secretary Rollins. “John’s roots in Texas where New World screwworm is at ground zero, and his private sector experience in the related food safety and cattle industries, will help the administration advance our response and protect U.S. livestock.”
“New World Screwworm presents unique challenges to America’s ranchers, and Secretary Rollins has taken dramatic steps to work on building up our domestic response to this pest. USDA is responding in real time and building up long term capabilities to push back New World Screwworm beyond our borders and past the Darien Gap,” said Senior Advisor Bellinger. “I look forward to working with USDA and our state partners as continuing ramping up testing, detection, and release of our tools to reduce these flies’ populations.”
John Bellinger currently serves on the Texas A&M Board of Regents after being appointed by Governor Greg Abbott in 2023, where he serves as Chair of the Committee on Research. He resides in San Antonio and is the co-founder, with his wife Gina, and the former CEO of Food Safety Net Services (FSNS). He is currently a board member of the recently merged company between FSNS and the Certified Group. He is the CEO of Agri-West International food exporter as well as Bellinger Development. He is the former chairman of the U.S. Meat Export Federation and the Southwest Meat Association. Additionally, he is a longtime member and season ticket holder of the 12th Man Foundation. He is also a member of the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture Development Council, as well an adviser to the Animal Science Department. He remains a partner and board member of Nolan Ryan Beef, BK Beef, BC Stables, AW Japan, Just Pots, and Livek. He is the recipient of the 2007 Outstanding Alumnus for Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and the Outstanding Alumnus of Texas A&M University Animal Science Department in 2014. He has also been inducted into the U.S. Meat Industry Hall of Fame in 2022. Bellinger received a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and a Master of Science in Animal Science from Texas A&M University.