Trump Hit With Worm Issues
Federal officials are racing to contain the return of the New World screwworm, a destructive parasite that the United States spent decades pushing far south of its borders. Now, after steadily moving north through Latin America in recent years, the pest has reappeared in the U.S., forcing authorities to revive strategies first used more than half a century ago.
Agriculture officials say the resurgence did not come as a surprise. Experts had been tracking the parasite’s movement for years and warned that it could eventually reach the United States again.
“We have been monitoring this threat for a long time,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said during a recent briefing. She emphasized that officials have successfully battled the screwworm before and believe they can do so again.
According to Rear Adm. Michael Schmoyer, who leads the Agriculture Department’s New World Screwworm response team, forecasting models suggested the parasite could arrive as early as last summer. That gave federal agencies time to deploy thousands of monitoring traps across the southern United States and Mexico.
Officials say the administration has committed more than $1 billion toward prevention and response efforts. The funding has supported accelerated approvals for animal treatments, expanded surveillance programs, investments in new control technologies, and efforts to rebuild the nation’s sterile fly production infrastructure.
Researchers in Texas say preparations have been underway for well over a year. Sonja Swiger, an entomology professor at Texas A&M University, noted that state agencies and livestock groups have been coordinating closely in anticipation of the parasite’s return.
The Food and Drug Administration has already issued multiple emergency authorizations and conditional approvals for medications designed to treat screwworm infestations in livestock and pets. Animal health companies have worked with federal regulators to speed products to market as concerns grew.
Still, critics argue that staffing reductions at the Department of Agriculture could complicate the response.
Government workforce data shows the USDA lost roughly 20,000 employees between early 2025 and early 2026 through layoffs and voluntary departures. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service reportedly saw staffing fall by about 25 percent during that period.
A group of Democratic senators recently warned that reduced staffing could hinder efforts to detect and respond to agricultural threats.
Rollins rejected those concerns, arguing that resources have been redirected toward priority missions and preparedness efforts. She said more than 100 full-time employees are currently dedicated to the screwworm response, compared to a much smaller team in previous years.
So far, officials have confirmed screwworm cases involving cattle and goats in Texas, along with a dog in New Mexico. Experts expect additional cases to emerge as surveillance expands.
The primary weapon against the parasite remains the same technique that helped eradicate it decades ago: releasing massive numbers of sterile male flies into affected areas. Because female screwworm flies typically mate only once, widespread releases of sterile males can dramatically reduce reproduction and eventually collapse local populations.
Scientists describe the approach as highly targeted and environmentally friendly compared with widespread pesticide use.
The challenge, however, is scale.
Producing enough sterile flies requires enormous facilities capable of generating hundreds of millions each week. Over the years, many of those facilities were shut down as the screwworm threat moved farther south, leaving only one major operational production center in Panama.
That facility currently produces around 100 million sterile flies weekly, far below the level experts say would be needed for a major eradication campaign.
To address the shortfall, the USDA is investing $21 million to convert an existing facility in Mexico into a large-scale screwworm production center. Construction is also underway on a new sterile fly facility in Texas, though it is not expected to begin operations until next year.
Officials say the current supply is enough to help manage the outbreak for now, but expanding production remains critical if the U.S. hopes to push the parasite back out of the country once again.
