National

USDA expects to contain screwworm case in Texas, Rollins says

By Leah Douglas Reuters

Updated June 4, 2026 6:17 PM

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins testifies before the House Committee on Agriculture on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins testifies before the House Committee on Agriculture on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 4, 2026. REUTERS/Evan Vucci Evan Vucci Reuters

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Thursday that the USDA believes it can contain a case of New World screwworm in Texas, the first case in the state since 1966.

"We do not believe this will be an infestation. We'll be able to isolate each case," Rollins said during testimony before the House Agriculture Committee.

"We've got the teams on the ground ready to go," she added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday confirmed a screwworm case in a calf in La Pryor, Texas, a town about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the U.S.-Mexico border. A screwworm outbreak could deal an economic blow to the U.S. cattle industry.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington, Editing by Franklin Paul)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:49 PM.