Screwworm Resurgence Tests US Cattle Defenses in Texas

After decades of containment, the New World screwworm surged in Panama around 2023, rising to thousands of cases and spilling north through Central America and Mexico before turning up in Texas cattle, a goat in the state and a dog in New Mexico. The outbreak tests the long-running sterile-fly program, prompts calls for more labor and funding, and has the CDC considering contingency plans for possible human cases as beef prices stay high and imports are restricted.