USDA Approves Emergency Funding To Protect Against New World Screwworm

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced $165 million in emergency funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation to protect U.S. livestock from New World screwworm (NWS) and to increase ongoing efforts to control its spread in Mexico and Central America. Over the past two years, NWS has spread throughout Panama and into Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. On November 22, 2024, the chief veterinary officer of Mexico notified APHIS of a positive detection in southern Mexico, near the Guatemalan border.

“The current outbreaks in Central America demonstrate the need for USDA to increase its investment in NWS eradication and prevention,” said Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs. “If NWS were to spread to the United States, it would result in significant economic losses and threats to animal health and welfare. This funding will allow for a coordinated emergency response to control the outbreak and prevent NWS from spreading to the United States.”

APHIS is working with Mexico and Central America to stop the spread and is asking all producers along the southern border to watch their livestock and pets for signs of NWS and immediately report potential cases to their veterinarian. Eradicating NWS only is possible by releasing sterile flies into an area where a known population has become established. Sterile male screwworm flies mate with fertile females, causing the population to decrease until it eventually dies out.