Originally published October 21, 2026. Case counts reflect that date.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Wednesday it has confirmed the first detection of the flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in U.S. wildlife, in an elk in Pecos County, Texas, Reuters reported.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department officials said they received confirmation on Oct. 21 of the detection in a hunter-harvested female elk in Pecos County.
A sample from the elk was identified and confirmed as New World screwworm at the ARS Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, TPWD said.
WHAT OFFICIALS SAID
The elk was located on a game ranch and was reported after being harvested by a hunter, the USDA said in a statement, according to Reuters.
"We encourage all hunters and landowners to be vigilant for signs of New World screwworm while they are out in the field this season," said Alan Cain, TPWD's Wildlife Division director, in the department's release.
The Texas Animal Health Commission will modify a previously established infested zone, and the USDA and TPWD are conducting additional wildlife surveillance in the area, TPWD said.
CASES AND MOVEMENT LIMITS
A second new case was confirmed Wednesday in cattle in Otero County, New Mexico, according to the USDA's screwworm dashboard, KVIA reported. The USDA lists seven active cases in New Mexico and Texas, KVIA said.
TAHC lists movement restrictions in parts of several Texas counties, including Pecos. Warm-blooded animals in an infested zone may not move out of the zone without prior authorization from the commission, according to TAHC.
TAHC says New World screwworm was confirmed June 3 in a calf in Zavala County. The calf has since recovered, and that case is now considered inactive, according to TAHC.
WHY IT MATTERS
Eradicated from the U.S. decades ago, the pest has surged north from Central America through Mexico, prompting a more than year-long ban on Mexican cattle imports, Reuters reported.
The halt helped tighten U.S. cattle supplies and push beef prices to record highs for American consumers, according to Reuters.
FOR TEXAS HUNTERS
With the kick-off of hunting season across Texas, TPWD is asking all hunters to inspect their harvest before field dressing or moving the carcass.
Signs in live animals include irritated or depressed behavior, loss of appetite, head shaking, the smell of decaying flesh, fly larvae in wounds and isolation from other animals or people, according to TPWD.
After a harvest, TPWD says hunters should check the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, genitalia and mucous membranes, and run their hands along the body and between the toes for wounds with a foul smell or maggots.
HOW TO REPORT
To report a wild animal that may have screwworm, contact your local TPWD wildlife biologist or call 512-389-4505, TPWD said.
Suspected cases in livestock and companion animals go to a TAHC region office or the veterinarian on call at 1-800-550-8242, TPWD said. More information is at screwworm.texas.gov.
SOURCES
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
