LUBBOCK, TX (RFD-TV) — Mexico has confirmed a fresh case of New World Screwworm in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, less than 70 miles from the U.S. border.
The discovery marks the northernmost detection of the pest during this outbreak and poses the most significant threat yet to American cattle and livestock. Sabinas Hidalgo sits on the highway corridor linking Monterrey to Laredo, Texas, and is one of the busiest trade routes in the world.
The USDA has also closed ports to imports of cattle, bison, and horses from Mexico, while continuing to audit and support Mexico’s trapping and control efforts. Officials say more announcements are expected this week as the USDA moves to protect livestock, wildlife, and the nation’s food supply.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the Trump Administration is executing a five-pronged national plan to prevent the parasite from entering the country. Since July, USDA and Mexican partners have monitored nearly 8,000 traps across Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, analyzing more than 13,000 samples with no flies detected.
The USDA’s five-part plan to prevent the parasite from establishing itself in American livestock includes:
- Technology and innovation: A $100 million investment in advanced sterilization techniques, traps, and treatment options.
- Border protection: A sterile fly dispersal facility under construction in Edinburg, Texas, and plans for a larger production site to release hundreds of millions of sterile flies each week.
- Enhanced surveillance: More than 8,000 traps set across Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, with over 13,000 samples screened since July. So far, no screwworm flies have been detected in the U.S.
- Public awareness: Updated disease response plans, stakeholder meetings, and outreach campaigns along the border.
- Binational cooperation: A joint action plan with Mexico, including financial and technical support for facility upgrades, and the deployment of more than 200 new staff to strengthen control efforts.
New World screwworm larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing severe wounds, infections, and even death if left untreated. The pest was eradicated from the U.S. in 1982 after decades of cooperative eradication programs, but experts warn that reintroduction would cause devastating animal health and economic impacts.
With the latest detection just across the border, animal health officials on both sides are intensifying efforts to contain the outbreak before it spreads further north.
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