WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says there are currently just five active cases of New World screwworm in the United States, as federal and state officials continue aggressive efforts to contain the pest and prevent further spread.
In a post on X, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said USDA has made significant progress since the response began.
According to Rollins, the department has dispersed more than 600 million sterile flies, conducted more than 1,000 drone flights to identify release locations, and observed and cleared more than 56,000 wildlife as part of surveillance efforts.
Really proud of this work. The numbers speak for themselves.
— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) August 6, 2026
It has been over two months since the first case of New World screwworm in America. Many reported the Trump USDA had failed, and a massive infestation was imminent. They said an already low cattle herd would now be…
Rollins also pushed back against critics who questioned the department’s response, saying USDA has been focused on New World screwworm since she took office and that the latest numbers demonstrate the strategy is working.
USDA data show the United States has recorded 45 total cases since the outbreak began, with only five cases currently active. The department also reports no confirmed infections in wild or feral animals, a key indicator that the pest has not become established in wildlife populations.
Meanwhile, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the threat remains significant south of the border, where officials continue battling widespread infestations.
Miller said he has remained in close contact with his counterparts in Mexico and described the current situation there as concerning.
“They’re just exploding the number of screwworm cases that they’ve got,” Miller said. “They’ve got 500 human cases. About 2,000 active cases—the most they’ve ever had. We need to help them out because the more cases they have, the more likely they’re going to infest us.”
Miller said one of his biggest concerns is how easily adult flies can travel across borders. As USDA prepares to reopen the border for cattle trade, Texas is expanding its own surveillance efforts.
The state is placing additional monitoring traps near cruise ship terminals in Corpus Christi and Galveston to detect any flies that could arrive from the Caribbean or Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, where infestations remain heaviest.
“I thought it would be a good idea to put them around those cruise ship terminals in Corpus Christi and Galveston in case we get any flies that are hitchhiking back up from the Caribbean or that Cancún area,” Miller said.
Federal and state officials say continued surveillance, sterile fly releases and close coordination with Mexico remain critical to preventing New World screwworm from becoming reestablished in the United States.
