New World Screwworm Found In Texas: What It Means For US, Beef Prices

The New ‌World screwworm, a parasitic fly that eats warm-blooded animals alive, has been found in a calf in Texas, the ‌U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Wednesday, exposing the nation’s cattle industry to a serious new threat.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the case was in a three-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 50 miles from the Mexico border.

Texas State Veterinarian Bud Dinges said he has established a 12-mile quarantine zone, prohibiting the movement of any warm-blooded animal-including pets-outside that zone without an inspection.

Rollins said there had been no further detections of the fly in the U.S., and officials were quick to say that while the screwworm’s larvae are a threat to livestock production, they do not infest food. When properly treated, even the infested calf should recover, Rollins said.

U.S. cattle numbers have fallen to their lowest level in decades, contributing to record-high beef prices. If cattle supplies fall further due to a screwworm outbreak, prices could rise even higher.

This is a developing story. More to follow.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 11:27 PM.