July 18, 2026
Dear TWA member,
Our prayers go out to our families and friends who have been affected by the heavy rains and flooding across Texas this week.
The Texas Wildlife Association and its partners continue to closely monitor developments around New World screwworm (NWS) spread in Texas since the initial detection on June 3. More detections are expected and response efforts continue to build. It is essential that landowners, particularly in impacted areas, vigilantly monitor wildlife and livestock and report suspicious cases to the appropriate authorities.
To provide you with timely and relevant information related to the presence of NWS in Texas, we are sharing this weekly update as of 12 p.m. on July 17, 2026. Cases confirmed since our July 11 update are included below.
A full list of active and inactive cases is available at the USDA Dashboard (updated daily at 5 p.m. Central).
|
Confirmed Date |
County |
Species |
Status |
|
14 July 2026 |
Pecos |
Sheep Sheep |
Active Active |
|
13 July 2026 |
Brewster Sutton |
Cattle Dog |
Active Active |
Active cases are those that involve ongoing disease mitigation efforts, including treatment and wound management of the infested animal until all wounds have healed.
Inactive animal cases refer to situations where mitigation activities are no longer required. Either the animal has fully recovered—with wounds healed and treatment completed—or, in cases where treatment was not performed, appropriate measures have been taken to prevent the spread of NWS, such as appropriate carcass management of a deceased infested animal.
News from this week
NWS video from WildLife 2026, Part 1
Rear Admiral Michael Schmoyer, Ph.D., associate administrator for APHIS and director of the New World Screwworm Directorate, sat down with our partners at Bar MC Media during WildLife 2026 to share information on NWS eradication efforts in Texas. We greatly appreciate Dr. Schmoyer spending the weekend with us at Convention and presenting at our Screwworm Workshop and Directors’ Meeting. His video, created specifically for our TWA membership, is available on the TWA Youtube Channel.
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What to look for
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Open sores or wounds with live maggots
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Animals shaking heads or acting irritated
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Foul, rotted flesh odor
Identification
NWS are parasitic flies that lay eggs in open wounds, genitalia or mucous membranes such as the umbilical cords of newborns, the nostrils, eyes or mouths of live warm-blooded animals. These eggs hatch into parasitic larvae (maggots) that only feed on living tissue, unlike other fly larvae that prefer dead or necrotic tissue. NWS larvae only burrow or “screw” into living tissue with sharp mouth hooks, giving them a screw-like appearance. Infested wounds quickly become infected and, if left untreated, will kill infested animals.
What you can do
Regularly reviewing game cameras, observations of wildlife while hunting or viewing animals, and inspection of hunter-harvested wildlife are important tools that can be used for NWS surveillance. While all warm-blooded mammals can be infested with NWS, white-tailed deer, jackrabbits, cottontails, small mammals and turkeys are more commonly affected. Instances of live or just-harvested animals with live maggots should be reported immediately.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) has established procedures for the take of certain wildlife suspected to be infested with NWS.
Inspect all harvested wild game. If a harvested animal has a suspected infection, utilize a tarp or other barrier to keep larvae from coming into contact with the soil. Report the animal to your TPWD biologist, and follow guidelines for carcass treatment and disposal. Carcasses with no sign of infestation can be disposed of through normal processes.
How to report and who to report to
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Report native wildlife sightings to a local TPWD biologist or call (512) 389-4505.
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Livestock and exotic wildlife: 1-800-550-8242
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Pets: contact your local veterinarian
Pesticides for NWS
For a list of currently registered products that meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efficacy data, please visit Pesticides for Control of New World Screwworm.
The EPA has approved Fyfanon® ULV AG (Malathion) for treating the ground around dead wildlife when NWS larvae have already exited the carcass to pupate in the soil.
What is being done
Sterile flies are a proven technique to eliminate this pest. It is estimated that to push the screwworms back out of the United States, 500 million flies per week will need to be produced and dispersed. The following actions are in place, or under development, to expand our sterile fly resources:
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COPEG production facility (Pacora, Panama) – 100 million sterile flies produced per week. This is a USDA facility.
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Metapa production facility (Metapa, MX) – The facility opened June 27 with current production of 30 million flies per week, with estimated production of 60-100 million flies per week by the end of 2026. This is a USDA Facility.
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Moore Air Base dispersal facility (Edinburg, TX) – Completed in February 2026, this facility allows USDA to receive flies from other locations but base their distribution operations from Texas. Capable of dispersing 100 million flies per week.
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Moore Air Base production facility (Edinburg, TX) – Groundbreaking was held in April 2026. Phase 1 is estimated to be complete by the end of 2027, with efforts to expedite completion to the summer of 2027 and produce 100 million flies per week. Phase 2 is estimated to be complete by the end of 2028 and produce an additional 200 million flies per week for a total of 300 million flies per week once full capacity is reached.
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NovoFly – new genetic technology that will allow for the production of male only sterile flies. This technology, which is nearing full approval, will effectively double current production capabilities. TWA provided comments to the EPA in favor of this technology in April of 2026.
TWA statement on potential feed-through treatment for wildlife
The Texas Wildlife Association continues to work with our state and federal partners to identify and share tools that Texas landowners can use in the prevention and treatment of NWS.
We are encouraged by the recent announcement of collaborative field trials involving the United States Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to evaluate the use of a feed-through treatment for wildlife applications. This research represents an important step toward developing science-based management options to protect Texas wildlife resources as the construction of vital sterile insect infrastructure moves forward.
We look forward to the results of these trials and are hopeful they will determine whether this treatment can be demonstrated to be both safe and effective in preventing NWS infestation in wildlife.
Stay updated by visiting these sites
Additional online resources (produced prior to first confirmed U.S. cases of NWS)
Thank you for your membership,
TWA Team