The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week confirmed the first case of New World screwworm in wildlife in the U.S. The insect has already been discovered in a handful of livestock in Texas and New Mexico.
Local health officials say there's no risk to people and animals in the Tri-State.
"It's none," says Hamilton County Public Health Medical Director Stephen Feagins, MD. "The likelihood of a New World screwworm case in cattle in Southwest Ohio is pretty nil, especially with enhanced surveillance, which has occurred the last two or three years, of any cattle that would be transported out of Texas."
New World screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic fly that feeds on tissue or flesh of warm-blooded animals and people. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flies lay their eggs in wounds and body openings like the ears, nose and eyes. Their larvae (maggots) then eat the live tissue.
The USDA reported Oct. 21 that it had confirmed the first wildlife case in an elk in Pecos County, Texas.
Feagins says the threat to local wildlife and domestic pets is also low.
"There is a risk there near the Texas/Mexico border for pets. There is the occasional case, but it's identified pretty quickly and and with prophylactic medicine, it's pretty nil," he reports. "The likelihood here in the Midwest is negative."
As NPR previously reported, the first case was discovered in June. The screwworm was a big problem in the early 1900s but was eradicated in the U.S. in the 1960s. Since then there have only been a few quickly-contained outbreaks, such as one in Key deer in the Florida Keys in the 2010s.
The latest outbreak is being treated the same way it was in the 1960s, Feagins says, by releasing sterile flies to mate with female screwworms, preventing the females from reproducing.
The screwworm is typically found in South America and parts of the Caribbean. However, the CDC reports, it's been moving northward through Central America and Mexico since 2023. The U.S. border was temporarily closed to beef cattle in May but reopened in September.
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