Texas A&M leads the charge to stop New World screwworm

Researchers, veterinarians, diagnosticians and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists and agents across The Texas A&M University System are working together with diligence to prepare for infestations, inspect animals, report cases and protect Texas and beyond from this ongoing scourge.

New World screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae infest wounds and feed on the living flesh of animals, particularly livestock and wildlife. If not contained, the pest can create economic and animal health concerns. NWS was eradicated from the United States in the 1960s and reemerged in Texas in June 2026.

Texas A&M has been on the front lines of this fight before. A former student, Dr. Edward Knipling ’30, was part of the team that helped control NWS 60 years ago. The sterile insect technique he co-developed involves sterilizing NWS pupae and releasing them as adult flies to mate with females. Females mate only once in their lifetime, so after mating with sterile males, they produce infertile eggs, resulting in the rapid collapse of wild fly populations.

Today, Texas A&M experts are drawing on that same science — and then some.

Building a Texas A&M System-wide response before the first case

Texas A&M’s strategies have kept the original mission of the university — to serve Texans — top of mind. Research-backed education for Texans, front-line support, close collaboration with state and federal agencies, and new research aim to keep Texas strong.  

To date, 51 NWS cases have been confirmed since the latest outbreak began, with 49 in Texas and two in New Mexico. The numbers are currently promising: As of this writing, Texas has only two active cases. The caseload in Texas has been declining overall, with 29 cases reported in June, 14 in July, four in August and two in September.

Confirmed Texas cases have been primarily in livestock (cattle, sheep, goats and horses), with three in dogs.

Texas A&M AgriLife spent more than a year building a coordinated A&M System-wide response through an internal task force involving Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

As soon as the screwworm entered Texas, the state made a disaster declaration, and the head of Texas A&M’s Department of Entomology, Dr. Phil Kaufman, joined the governor in a declaration press conference. 

“Knowing the science of the fly is key,” said Kaufman. “The most effective way to eradicate it from Texas is to know where the flies are and then release sterile male flies in the area.”

Educating Texans to help identify and treat screwworm

Education about the screwworm is imperative for Texans who manage livestock and wildlife. They need to know how to identify the signs of an infested wound, who to call and how to treat the infestation. AgriLife Extension is a state agency dedicated to putting research-backed information in the hands of Texans. 

Dr. Jason Smith, AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist and associate professor in the Department of Animal Science, is stationed at the Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center at Canyon and was one of the faculty who authored educational materials.  

“These materials provide actionable information in an easy-to-understand form,” Smith said. “Educating livestock owners is imperative for a new situation; owners are the front-line defense against screwworm, because they’ll be the first ones that see the signs and report the suspected cases.” 

AgriLife Extension’s online educational efforts are bolstered by the agency’s in-person educational presence. 

AgriLife Extension personnel have been actively preparing Texans ever since the potential reemergence of NWS was identified. More than 600 in-person educational events have been held across Texas, reaching more than 286,000 people over the past year. Each event attended and each fact sheet read puts more Texans in a better position to protect their animals.

Knowing where NWS exists is key to elimination

Reporting suspected cases is key to treating infested wounds and preventing further spread of NWS. Reporting cases is the first part, but it also takes rapid larval testing, case confirmation, a coordinated response from state agencies and continued education for livestock owners. 

The Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) recently deployed to support the Texas Animal Health Commission’s (TAHC) active field operations, assisting with animal screenings and collecting samples from areas under investigation or designated as screwworm infestation zones.

“Texas A&M VET is proud to help in this challenging time for our state,” said Dr. Deb Zoran ‘97, veterinarian and VET director. “Our team is ready to help our state partners, livestock producers of all sizes, animal owners and our state’s local veterinarians deal with this pest.” 

The team has also put together resources for pet owners, shelters and other animal handlers and caregivers.

Similarly, for the first time in its nearly 60-year history as a state agency, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory deployed diagnosticians at the request of the Office of the Governor. The mobile unit supported the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and TAHC with faster diagnostics, allowing a quicker identification of potential NWS cases. 

AgriLife Extension’s Disaster Assessment and Recovery unit also stepped into the response, inspecting livestock so the animals can be cleared for approved movement within infested zones — work that keeps Texas livestock commerce moving safely even as containment efforts continue. 

In addition to educating animal owners, Texas A&M experts worked closely with the state of Texas to create a free online training course — an effort to increase the number of certified NWS inspectors across Texas. It also provides a deep dive for anyone looking to learn more about the screwworm and identification. More inspectors means more animals can be cleared for safe movement, a critical step in ensuring that livestock commerce continues uninterrupted. 

The course, led by AgriLife Extension, is a key part of the educational training required to become a certified inspector by the state. Once the course is completed, TAHC works with individuals to complete the certification process.

As of Oct. 1, more than 6,700 Texans have enrolled in the course, and almost 3,470 certificates have been completed, adding a substantial number of potential inspectors and further expanding Texas A&M’s educational impacts.

Conducting research to create new solutions

Meanwhile, Texas A&M researchers are expanding the nation’s NWS knowledge base to combat the screwworm. Texas A&M has received a portion of $105 million in research funding announced by the USDA to enhance detection, control and eradication of NWS.

The NWS Grand Challenge focuses on four core priorities:

• Enhance sterile NWS fly production to improve program efficiency and capacity. 
• Develop novel NWS traps and lures to modernize detection and early warning systems. 
• Advance NWS therapeutics and treatments to reduce animal health impacts and strengthen response capability. 
• Develop tools that bolster preparedness and response, including repellents, ecological modeling, wildlife surveillance or other innovative approaches.

Texas A&M was selected for 14 projects from the 40 funded awards. Projects were selected based on their innovative approaches, scientific gold standards and their potential to make a significant impact on the prevention of and response to NWS.

As part of the 14 projects announced, AgriLife Research is assessing the feasibility, efficacy and operational readiness of electron beam, or eBeam, technology as a nonradioactive alternative to cobalt-60 gamma irradiation for sterilizing pupae in sterile insect technique programs. 

Another of the 14 projects is tackling a different gap in the response. The sterile insect technique suppresses NWS populations across a region, but it can’t treat an animal that’s already infested. A multidisciplinary team led by the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station is developing fast-acting, low-residue wound treatments — a wound-conforming foam, a bio-adhesive spray and an immersion wash — that veterinarians and producers could apply the moment an infestation is found. 

Beyond the current outbreak, this portfolio of research represents an investment by Texas A&M in tools that will serve Texans and the nation for many years to come.

Collaborating beyond the lab and pasture

Texas A&M’s response to NWS isn’t confined to the lab or the pasture — it now reaches into the world of geospatial intelligence. The College of Arts and Sciences and The Bush School of Government and Public Service have partnered with the USDA to help address one of the biggest threats to eradication efforts: illicit livestock movement across the U.S.-Mexico border.

This fall, a senior capstone class of geography students will use geographic information systems, human geography and other unclassified data to build a baseline system for tracking the issue. Their findings will be presented to USDA leadership in December, with a follow-on spring capstone expanding the work into remote sensing.

The effort builds on the graduate Geospatial Intelligence Certificate jointly offered by the Department of Geography and the Bush School, currently under review for accreditation by the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation — a signal that Texas A&M is positioning itself as a national home for geospatial intelligence, alongside its role in the fight against screwworm.

And in June, John Bellinger ’76, ’78, a member of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, was appointed by President Donald Trump as senior advisor for NWS preparedness. In this role, Bellinger will support and advise on the USDA’s efforts to contain and eradicate the screwworm. Having an Aggie help shape the nation’s response is a reminder that Texas A&M’s service has never stopped at the Texas state line.

In the fight to ensure animal health security, Texas A&M is meeting this moment — just as it has met every challenge for a century and a half — with science, service and the resolve to protect what matters most, while positioning itself as a force for good across Texas, the nation and the world.