A flesh-eating parasite that once wiped out hundreds of thousands of cattle across the American South has returned to US soil, but the Trump administration is insisting it is under control.
On 3 June 2026, the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the detection of the New World screwworm (NWS) in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. It is the first confirmed case in US livestock since 1966. Despite the gravity of that milestone, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and her deputy were swift to reassure the public: 'There is no threat of mass infestation,' Rollins declared during an evening press call.
