Texas A&M University has mobilized its Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) to support the state’s response to the New World screwworm outbreak in the Hill Country. Twelve faculty and staff members from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences deployed on June 13 to assist Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) field operations.
The mobilization follows the confirmation of the first sheep case in the state and the expansion of quarantine boundaries into Schleicher County.
The emergency team is providing animal inspections, treatments, and sample collection within investigated areas and established screwworm zones. Additional faculty and students are expected to rotate into the field as operations continue. Dr. Deb Zoran, the director of the VET, stated that while the team is typically deployed for hurricanes or floods, it is prepared to assist state partners, veterinarians, and livestock producers with this parasitic threat.
The deployment coincides with a change in the outbreak’s species profile. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed 12 cases of New World screwworm—11 in Texas and one in New Mexico. While previous Texas cases primarily affected cattle, a sheep in Sutton County tested positive. This detection prompted a new quarantine covering parts of Kimble, Schleicher, and Sutton counties.
The New World screwworm is the larval stage of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly. The fly deposits eggs in open wounds or body openings, and the resulting maggots burrow into living tissue. The TAHC warns that the parasite can kill an untreated animal within approximately one week. Within infested zones, warm-blooded animals are prohibited from leaving without TAHC authorization, inspection, treatment, and a movement certificate.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on June 11 that the FDA authorized nitenpyram tablets as a fast-acting treatment for dogs and cats in affected areas. This is described as the first generic animal drug cleared specifically for screwworm infestations.
The sole New Mexico case involves a dog in Lea County that was initially examined by a veterinarian in Andrews County, Texas. According to the TAHC, there are currently no confirmed human or wildlife cases in Texas. Federal meat inspection protocols are in place to keep affected animals out of the commercial food supply.
The duration of the VET’s intensive field work will depend on the scale of future rotations. Officials are monitoring whether the detection in sheep signals a broader spread among small ruminants on the Edwards Plateau.