Weekly Screwworm Status Update_2026-June-29

The U.S. outbreak continued to expand during the past week, especially in Texas. The most defensible official written count today is from the Texas Animal Health Commission: 10 Texas counties with confirmed cases and 18 Texas premises with cases, up from 8 counties and 13 premises at the June 23 update. TAHC also lists a broader quarantine/infested-zone footprint in parts of 21 Texas counties, but those are not all confirmed-case counties. (Texas Animal Health Commission)

The latest CDC situation summary I found is still dated June 23, reporting 16 domestically acquired U.S. animal cases as of June 22 and no locally acquired U.S. human cases; CDC points readers to screwworm.gov for newer animal case data. (CDC) USDA’s current-status page was updated June 29, but its static text points to a dynamic dashboard for U.S. confirmed detections; the row-level dashboard data were not fully available in the page text. (APHIS)

Newly confirmed U.S. animal detections since June 23

Confirmed in official TAHC written orders

Supplemental media/dashboard-reported items
Farm Progress reported that USDA confirmed three additional Terrell County cattle cases on June 23, bringing the U.S. total to 19 cases as of June 24. I would treat this as supplemental until verified directly against the USDA dashboard, because the static USDA page does not expose the full dashboard table. (Farm Progress)

A local Midland report later described 20 U.S. cases according to USDA, but I would not use that number as the main published count without direct dashboard verification. (Midland Reporter-Telegram)

Current U.S. status

Texas quarantine / movement restrictions

TAHC now lists quarantine/infested-zone areas in parts of Bandera, Coke, Crockett, Edwards, Gillespie, Jim Hogg, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle, Medina, Pecos, Schleicher, Starr, Sutton, Terrell, Tom Green, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Zapata, and Zavala counties. This is broader than the confirmed-case county list. (Texas Animal Health Commission)

TAHC states that warm-blooded animals in an infested zone may not move out without prior authorization; animals must be inspected, treated as required, and issued movement documentation. Hides, carcasses, and animal parts capable of serving as hosts must also be inspected and treated if required before removal from the zone. (Texas Animal Health Commission)

USDA’s current-status page also says all southern ports of entry are currently closed to livestock trade. (APHIS) Canada has suspended export of several live-animal categories from Texas, including equids, swine, cattle/bison/water buffalo, sheep/goats, cervids, and camelids. (APHIS)

Mexico status and trend

The trend remains active northward risk, but the near-border picture may have improved slightly since last week. USDA’s current-status page says Mexico maps are updated Tuesdays/Thursdays and near-border case lists within 100 miles are updated each business day; USDA also states that the sterile insect release polygon is adjusted based on science and modeling to maintain suppression and prevent spread. (APHIS)

Supplemental reporting from Farm Progress said SENASICA’s latest report showed 1,810 active cases in Mexico, while USDA data showed 43 cases within 100 miles of the U.S. border, down from 62 near-border detections reported June 18. Because this figure was reported secondarily and not visible in static SENASICA text during this review, I would cite it as a supplemental snapshot, not the official final count. (Farm Progress)

A major control development: Reuters reported that the U.S. and Mexico inaugurated a $50 million sterile-fly production plant in Metapa de Domínguez, Chiapas, expected to produce up to 100 million sterile flies weekly, roughly doubling output from the Panama-based COPEG plant. Reuters also reported more than 30,000 animals affected in Mexico in the current outbreak context. (Reuters)

Central America / Panama status

COPEG’s public site was updated with epidemiological week 24 of 2026, covering data through June 20, 2026. It reports 561 new cases, 68,665 cumulative cases since the start of the outbreak, and 34 weekly dispersal flights. COPEG lists affected species including 59,118 bovines, 3,304 canines, 2,286 swine, 1,657 equines, 1,394 sheep, 345 goats, and 326 humans. (COPEG)

COPEG states that the pest remains in the eradication phase in Panama, with positive cases in all Panamanian provinces except Guna Yala, and regional cases in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, and Mexico. (COPEG)

USDA/APHIS control actions

USDA’s current-status page emphasizes the U.S. confirmed-detections dashboard, immediate reporting of suspicious wounds/maggots, trade restrictions, port closures, and sterile-insect release adjustments in Mexico and along the border. (APHIS) USDA’s confirmed-detections page says the dashboard captures individual animal cases by county/state, animal type/species, confirmation date, and active/inactive status, plus wild-fly detections where available. (APHIS)

TAHC states that federal and state partners are working jointly in infested zones on animal/fly surveillance, epidemiologic investigations, and response protocols. (Texas Animal Health Commission) TAHC and Texas A&M AgriLife have also created a New World Screwworm Certified Inspector Program to train and certify personnel to inspect animals and issue NWS treatment/movement certificates. (Texas Animal Health Commission)

Changes since June 23

The main changes are:

1. Texas expanded from 8 to 10 confirmed-case counties and from 13 to 18 premises with cases, per TAHC. (Texas Animal Health Commission)
2. New confirmed-case counties include Medina and Jim Hogg, based on TAHC orders. (Texas Animal Health Commission)
3. Additional detections occurred in Crockett and Edwards counties, including sheep and bovine detections. (Texas Animal Health Commission)
4. The quarantine footprint expanded to parts of 21 Texas counties, but those are not all confirmed-case counties. (Texas Animal Health Commission)
5. The regional sterile-fly response expanded, with the new Chiapas sterile-fly facility reported by Reuters as a major U.S.–Mexico capacity increase. (Reuters)
6. Human status did not worsen: CDC still reports no locally acquired U.S. human cases. (CDC)

Practical implications

For veterinarians, the priority is rapid recognition, proper larval collection, reporting, treatment, and movement documentation. The expansion into new Texas counties means clinicians should maintain suspicion beyond the original south Texas focus.

For livestock owners, daily wound checks remain essential, especially after calving, castration, dehorning, shearing, branding, and traumatic wounds. The recent detections in bovines, sheep, and goats underscore that routine livestock wounds are the highest-risk entry points.

For pet owners, New Mexico’s dog case remains a reminder that pets can be affected, but the known New Mexico case is now recovered/inactive. Owners in or near affected zones should inspect pets for nonhealing, draining, painful, or foul-smelling wounds. (screwwormnm.org)

For public health, the U.S. situation remains primarily animal-health/agricultural. CDC’s current message is that U.S. public risk remains very low and localized to areas where animal cases have been reported. (CDC)

For entomologists, the key issue is differentiating animal infestations from evidence of wild-fly activity. USDA’s dashboard is designed to track both animal cases and wild-fly detections, but the static page does not expose the row-level wild-fly data. (APHIS)

Uncertainties and discrepancies

The biggest uncertainty is the individual animal case count as of June 29. TAHC gives a strong official summary: 10 Texas counties and 18 premises with cases. But the USDA individual-animal dashboard is dynamic, and the static page does not show all rows. For publication, I would use the TAHC county/premises count as the official written count and treat media-reported individual totals as supplemental unless you manually verify the USDA dashboard. (Texas Animal Health Commission)

The second uncertainty is Mexico’s exact current active-case count. USDA points to SENASICA and updates its map/list on a schedule, but the static text does not expose all current Mexico data. Use exact active-case and near-border counts only after checking the current dashboard directly. (APHIS)

Map generated by ChatGPT using USDA, CDC, and state agency data. For full data sources, see the associated article.