Return Of The Screwworm: Can The Flesh-Eating Parasite Found In US Cattle Infect Humans?

Key points

• Return Of The Screwworm: Can The Flesh-Eating Parasite Found In US Cattle Infect Humans?
• Published By, Last Updated: June 05, 2026, 17:27 IST A parasite once pushed out of the US has been detected again in livestock, prompting quarantine measures and a wider containment push in cattle-rich Texas.
• Rapid Read A herd of cattle graze a pasture, a day after the US Department of Agriculture confirmed that New World screwworm was detected in a Texas calf, near Zavala County, Texas, U.S. (REUTERS) A flesh-eating parasite that had been eradicated from the United States decades ago has returned to American livestock, setting off alarms in one of the country’s most important cattle-producing regions.
• The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of New World screwworm in a 3-week-old calf in La Pryor, Texas, about 100 miles southwest of San Antonio and around 50 miles from the US-Mexico border.