New World Screwworm raises concern for cattle industry, consumer prices in New Mexico
By Faith Egbuonu
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ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — As of Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed 5 New World Screwworm cases which include three infected cattle and one goat in Texas as well as a dog infected in Lea County, New Mexico.
On Tuesday, University of New Mexico professor of Finance and Economist Reilly White weighed in on the possible impact the New World Screwworm could have on the cattle industry and consumer prices if an outbreak occurs.
“Screw worm in general is a major concern for the cattle and beef industry across the United States. Now, we haven’t seen cases like this in many years. And to see them come back represents significant concerns for the cattle industry,” Reilly told KOAT.
“Here in New Mexico, we have $1 billion plus cattle industry. We’ve got over 1.2 million cattle. We’ve got dairy cattle. Our dairy industry is one of the top ten largest in the country. The impact is significant,” Reilly said.
“It is a highly destructive, flesh-eating parasite. Screw worm larvae (maggots) consume the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock, wildlife and pets. It can also infect humans.”
“This has the effect of raising prices for consumers. So, if we did have a larger or more expansive screw worm outbreak, it would result in higher prices across the board for all cattle based products meats, milk, dairy, all of those things. We had the avian flu a couple of years back. Of course, that rose egg prices significantly because we had to cull a lot of chickens,” Reilly told KOAT.
“How big is it going to be has a big effect on it. How widespread it’s going to be is a big effect, and the type of remediation that different cattle producers can do will help dictate how much of this gets passed along to consumers,” Reilly said.
The parasite feeds on the living flesh of warm-blooded animals, including livestock and pets. New Mexico State University Asst. professor of Entomology Caleb Hubbard, an explained how the parasite operates.
“The female flies will find things like open wounds. These can even be very, very small wounds as small as something like a tick bite. Those female flies lay eggs on that wound. Those eggs hatch into maggots,” Hubbard said.
“The cause for concern or the damaging aspect of this is that these maggots then have the ability to consume living flesh. So, these flies then or these maggots then are going to be consuming tissue,” Hubbard told KOAT.
Hubbard emphasized the significance of remaining alert, but not alarmed, stating “This isn’t something we need to be afraid of, but it’s very important that people are aware it’s here. One of the biggest things that we always stress is the fact that this is treatable if it’s caught early. Make sure your animals are being inspected. This has to be a team effort,” Hubbard said.
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