WATCH LIVE: Rollins holds update as USDA confirms more screwworm cases in Texas

By — Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press Jeffrey Collins, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/watch-live-rollins-holds-update-as-usda-confirms-more-screwworm-cases-in-texas Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH LIVE: Rollins holds update as USDA confirms more screwworm cases in Texas Health Jun 8, 2026 1:41 PM EDT Two more cases of the New World screwworm have been confirmed hundreds of miles apart in Texas, demonstrating the difficulty of stopping the spread of a pest that could potentially devastate the nation's cattle industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Monday. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is holding an update at 3 p.m. EST. Watch her remarks in the player above. The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. A government program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females had kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades. So far, there are four confirmed cases in Texas. The USDA said the latest were a calf and a dog in La Salle and Andrews counties, respectively. The initial screwworm cases were discovered last week in two calves within a few miles of each other in south Texas. Scientists expect a handful of new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn't mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly. "When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely," Burgess said. "And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it." Officials work at the State Operations Center during Texas' response to the New World Screwworm in Austin on Friday. Photo by Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP Photo An agriculture department statement on Monday said officials are sampling suspected cases and working to eradicate the pest entirely. READ MORE: Screwworm fly detected in Texas decades after cattle threat was largely eradicated in U.S. The USDA and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an infestation since screwworm was detected in Mexico late in 2024. Screwworm was a yearly warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers before being eliminated in the U.S. in the 1960s. So far, its reappearance hasn't greatly affected beef prices, which are already near record levels because there are fewer cows in the U.S. Although the parasite attacks live cattle, it does not infest meat or fruit. There are also a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock. Canada temporarily stopped importing cattle, horses or other livestock from Texas on Friday. The parasites prefer humid areas where temperatures are at least 77 F (25 C), m