A Grisly Parasite Returns to U.S. Soil

The New World screwworm outbreak has thrust the Trump administration’s handling of a flesh-eating parasite into the spotlight, raising hard questions about transparency, preparedness, and the consequences of deep budget cuts. A pest once confined to South America for decades has now traveled from southern Mexico into Texas in just two years — a period during which the administration slashed staffing and funding at the very agencies tasked with stopping it.

The screwworm, a maggot best known for burrowing into the flesh of cattle and other livestock, is back. And ranchers, scientists, and officials are increasingly worried about whether the government is moving fast enough.

Early Alarm Behind the Scenes

The first signs of trouble surfaced quietly. When health authorities discovered the parasite in a Maryland resident last August, beef industry leaders scrambled to figure out how to protect the market from the fallout. Emails obtained by The Washington Post reveal these urgent conversations began a full six days before the U.S. Department of Agriculture publicly disclosed the case.

That gap between private alarm and public acknowledgment foreshadowed the transparency concerns that would soon follow.

Confirmed Cases Mount

Today, the United States has 12 confirmed cases spanning multiple animals — cattle, goats, sheep, and even a dog — across Texas and New Mexico. As the numbers climb, ranchers and local officials are openly questioning whether the USDA is being fully honest about the true scale of the outbreak and whether it’s doing everything possible to contain it.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has publicly played down the danger, often pointing to the previous administration. Yet experts argue the parasite’s reemergence has exposed serious weaknesses in the federal government’s ability to respond.

The Sterile Fly Problem

Eradicating the screwworm relies on a proven but slow strategy: releasing sterile flies that prevent the population from reproducing. The catch? The U.S. simply doesn’t have enough of them — and won’t until a new facility comes online next year at the earliest.

“This is not a simple show up, stamp out, depopulate and leave,” said Dudley Hoskins, undersecretary of marketing and regulatory programs, emphasizing that the effort will take time and, above all, far more sterile flies.

Here’s where the supply currently stands:

• A jointly operated U.S.-Panama facility produces about 100 million sterile flies per week, already running at full capacity
• A second facility in Mexico is being established, expected to eventually add another 100 million flies weekly
• A planned Texas facility would add 300 million flies per week — but it won’t begin operating until sometime in 2027

Even once production reaches 500 million flies a week, experts warn that pushing the parasite back through Mexico will likely take years rather than months.

No Emergency Declaration — Yet

One major point of contention is the USDA’s decision not to declare an emergency, a step that the agency’s own response playbook says would unlock additional federal resources. Notably, the Department of Health and Human Services already declared one last year.

A senior USDA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, defended the decision, saying the agency is continuously evaluating the situation and already holds the powers it needs without a formal declaration.

Ranchers Left in the Dark

For the farmers on the front lines, the lack of clear information is deeply frustrating. John Paul Schuster, a rancher and county judge in Kinney County, Texas, said the USDA hasn’t told producers enough about what happens to their herds if they’re placed in a containment zone. An infestation could block him from selling his cattle and force costly treatments.

Schuster didn’t mince words: “I really like Brooke Rollins but young lady, you dropped the ball on this one.”

Rollins, widely seen as harboring future political ambitions in Texas, has faced suspicion from critics who believe she’s downplaying the crisis to appear in control. A person close to her insists she does not discuss running for office.

The Self-Reporting Dilemma

A quieter but serious problem looms beneath the surface: fear of reporting. Senate Democrats have urged the USDA to consider using the Defense Production Act to ramp up sterile fly production and to compensate affected producers — similar to past programs that covered losses during avian flu outbreaks.

Without such support, ranchers may simply hide their cases to avoid economic ruin.

“You can’t quarantine something you’re not aware of,” said former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, noting the system depends heavily on voluntary self-reporting.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller echoed the concern, suggesting some ranchers are actively trying to avoid detection. He argued that labeling the response a “quarantine” frightened producers into silence. Rollins, however, rejected Miller’s suggestion as “unserious” and “dangerous.”

Staffing Cuts Cast a Long Shadow

Perhaps the most striking thread running through the crisis is the impact of workforce reductions. While the administration created a New World Screwworm Directorate within the USDA — growing it from 10 to 100 staff — the broader picture tells a different story.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), responsible for detecting and treating screwworm, lost nearly 2,000 employees last year. That amounts to more than 20 percent of its workforce, gutted as part of the administration’s effort to shrink the federal government.

Former officials say these cuts eroded critical expertise and left fewer trained people available to respond in an emergency. Kevin Shea, a retired APHIS administrator with 45 years at the agency, called the reductions “a big problem” that directly hurts the ability to respond to new outbreaks.

Some of the cuts were so severe they were later reversed, with the USDA firing and quickly rehiring lab network staff and restoring jobs in its hard-hit plant protection program.

Funding Lost Abroad

The damage extended beyond U.S. borders. The administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development cut roughly $382 million from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, including a Global Health Security Program that specifically targeted pests like the screwworm.

“It’s much more expensive than if we’d dealt with it the first time,” said Katy Padilla Stout, a Democratic congressional candidate from the affected Texas district. She warned that until the situation becomes a full-blown crisis, it won’t get the attention it deserves.

Lingering Mysteries and Hidden Cases

Some officials fear the outbreak is already larger than the confirmed numbers suggest. The first known U.S. livestock infestation — found in a young calf in South Texas — had no clear connection to other cases, with the nearest known infestation dozens of miles away.

“How it jumped that far, we don’t know,” said an experienced veterinarian involved in the response. Officials believe more cases are likely to surface in the coming months.

Confusion also surrounds an infested dog in New Mexico. The USDA first claimed the dog had traveled across the border, then reversed course. State veterinarian Samantha Holeck explained that a language barrier at the treating clinic caused the mix-up, and an interpreter later confirmed the dog had never left home.

Understanding the Threat

Unlike many livestock diseases, the screwworm can infest virtually any warm-blooded animal — not just cattle, sheep, and goats, but also deer, feral hogs, raccoons, squirrels, and exotic game animals.

The parasite’s life cycle is as gruesome as its reputation. Female flies lay eggs in open wounds or body openings, and once hatched, the larvae burrow into living tissue and feed. The result is painful, foul-smelling wounds that can turn serious without early treatment.

Human cases remain uncommon — roughly one human infestation for every 100 animal cases — though experts caution that ratio can shift depending on local conditions. The risk to the general public stays low but rises for those living in or traveling to outbreak zones like Central America and Mexico. Officials stress the food supply remains safe, since cattle are inspected before slaughter.

A Long Road Ahead

Despite the grim outlook, not everyone is critical. Robbie Graff, the rancher with the first confirmed case, praised the USDA’s response, noting officials began dropping flies within two days, his infested calf made a full recovery, and he hasn’t seen any new cases since.

Still, the broader consensus is sobering. Even under ideal conditions, restoring the natural buffer that once kept the parasite contained in South America will take years.

“Even under the best of circumstances we’re talking about years,” Shea said. “It’s not hopeless, we know how to do this. But it’s going to be painful and costly.”

For now, the New World screwworm outbreak stands as both a public health challenge and a test of whether a leaner federal government can rise to meet a fast-moving threat.