#new-world-screwworm

#new-world-screwworm

Strong cattle prices, record beef demand, and renewed policy attention are giving the North American cattle sector reasons for optimism - but supply constraints and cross-border issues remain front and centre, says Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). RealAgriculture's Shaun Haney was at CattleCon 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee, this week, to discuss the state of the cattle industry, trade relationships, and the policy challenges shaping the years ahead.

In September, the USDA warned that an 8-month-old cow with an active NWS infection was found in a feedlot in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, just 70 miles from the border. The finding prompted Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller to step up warnings about the threat. " The screwworm is dangerously close," Miller said at the time. "It nearly wiped out our cattle industry before; we need to act forcefully now."

According to the US Department of Agriculture, SENASICA reported that the infected animal- an 8-month-old cow-had recently been moved to a certified feedlot in Nuevo León from a region in southern Mexico with known active NWS cases. In addition to the proximity, the USDA highlighted that "Sabinas Hidalgo is located near the major highway from Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, to Laredo, Texas, which is one of the most heavily trafficked commercial thoroughfares in the world."

On Sunday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed the first human case of the flesh-eating New World screwworm (NWS) inside the United States, reported Reuters. The HHS's confirmation came weeks after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was said to have confirmed the same case of New World screwworm infestation. Fast Company reached out to HHS for comment.

The New World Screwworm (NWS) lays hundreds of larvae in the wounds of animals and people, which hatch within hours and consume the victim's tissue.