The USDA and partners are intensifying controls against the screwworm outbreak, including releasing sterile screwworms, deploying 8,000 border fly traps, testing tens of thousands of samples, and planning new breeding facilities and a factory in Texas and Mexico to produce sterile flies.

A 12-mile quarantine zone around the detected case has been established, with sterile flies released within the zone, supplementing the region’s ongoing release program of about four million flies weekly.

The U.S. government has allocated substantial funding, including roughly $21 million for a facility conversion in Mexico and a $750 million project for a screwworm factory in southern Texas, to boost eradication and containment.

Officials warn the screwworm can infect livestock, wild mammals, pets, and humans through open wounds or mucous membranes, making timely treatment crucial to prevent mortality.

Experts note that climate and cross-border movement complicate surveillance, but current information indicates the outbreak is limited to a single case with no evidence of widespread transmission.

Historically, an outbreak in 2016 affected deer in the Florida Keys but was contained by the next spring.

Authorities emphasize that the larvae threaten livestock but do not infest food, and the infested calf is expected to recover with proper treatment.

Officials also stress the goal of containment to prevent establishment of the pest in the U.S., while noting that the larvae do not infest food.

The screwworm, eradicated from North and Central America in the past, remains common in South America and has been moving north in recent years, raising concern among farmers and scientists.

Resurgence began around 2023 due to pandemic-related program disruptions and other factors; outbreaks have since spread across Central America and Mexico, with a prior human travel-related case detected before the U.S. calf case.