Screwworm infestations reported in Mexico and United States

Mexican health authorities confirmed the first case of New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) in a dog from Pueblo Nuevo, Durango. The case was handled jointly by the Durango Secretariat of Health’s zoonosis program and the national animal health agency, which noted the parasite’s rare occurrence and its potential to affect vulnerable groups such as elderly, mentally‑ill and diabetic persons. Two possible human cases are being investigated, and laboratory tests are ongoing to verify the species.

In the United States, five cases have been identified: three calves and a goat in Texas and a dog in New Mexico. State officials have established a 20‑km quarantine zone around the infestations and are urging owners to monitor animals closely. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Dudley Hoskins called for regional cooperation, while veterinary and entomology experts highlighted that the parasite, once eradicated in the 1960s‑70s, now poses a low direct risk to humans but could threaten livestock if it spreads further.