New World Screwworm in Texas: Case Tracker & Map
A running record of confirmed New World screwworm infestations in Texas — where cases are, how the outbreak has grown, and the official channels for reporting and response. Distilled from USDA APHIS, the Texas Animal Health Commission, and Texas A&M AgriLife.
Latest confirmed total: 53 U.S. (51 in Texas, 2 in New Mexico) as of October 2, 2026, per USDA APHIS — 2 active and 51 resolved.
Confirmed cases by county
Hover a county for detail. USDA reports 17 affected counties; the 17 individually named in reporting are shown here. USDA does not publish exact per-county totals, so the map shows status, not case numbers.
In an affected county? Our directory lists licensed local pros — see pest control in Zavala County, pest control in Gillespie County, pest control in Tom Green County, pest control in Pecos County, pest control in Uvalde County, pest control in Medina County, pest control in Terrell County, pest control in Brewster County, pest control in Starr County or pest control in Val Verde County.
How the outbreak has grown
From the first U.S. case in ~60 years to today.
Report a suspected case
Call the Texas Animal Health Commission at 1-800-550-8242 or contact your veterinarian immediately. Watch for maggots that burrow deeper into a wound, a foul odor, and wounds that enlarge over time. Early reporting is critical.
Outbreak timeline
- Confirmed case48 TX cases
Count reaches 50; second New Mexico case is a horse in Grant County
USDA’s dashboard listed 50 confirmed U.S. cases (48 in Texas, 2 in New Mexico) — 2 active, 48 inactive — after a horse in Grant County, New Mexico, was confirmed September 17: the state’s second case of the outbreak and its second equine case in two weeks, eight days after the first U.S. horse case in Presidio County. New Mexico began establishing infested and surveillance zones around the premise. The Texas count held at 48 — no new Texas case since September 9 — as Reuters reported the U.S. was preparing to reopen a border port to Mexican livestock imports.
- Confirmed case48 TX cases
Count reaches 49; first horse case lands in Presidio County
USDA’s dashboard listed 49 confirmed U.S. cases (48 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 2 active, 47 inactive — after a horse in Presidio County was confirmed September 9: the outbreak’s first equine case and the 17th Texas county affected. TAHC’s same-day order designated new infested areas in Presidio and neighboring Jeff Davis counties, while September release orders cleared Coke, Tom Green, Bandera, Medina and parts of several others, shrinking movement restrictions from parts of 19 counties to 14.
- Confirmed case47 TX cases
Count reaches 48; dog case reactivates epicenter Crockett County
USDA’s dashboard listed 48 confirmed U.S. cases (47 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 3 active, 45 inactive — after a dog in Crockett County was confirmed August 31: the county’s twelfth case, its first since July 10, and the third Texas dog case of the outbreak. TAHC designated parts of the county Infested Zone 20 on September 1; its situation summary counts 16 affected counties across 38 premises, with movement restrictions in parts of 19 counties.
- Milestone46 TX cases
First quarantines lifted — areas of five counties released
TAHC released Infested Zones 02.A and 03 — the response’s first zone releases — lifting movement restrictions from designated areas of Gillespie, Kerr, Kimble, La Salle and Webb counties after months of surveillance and eradication work. Gillespie and La Salle became the first case counties cleared; the restriction map shrank from parts of 23 counties to 19.
Count reaches 47; goat case is Val Verde County’s second in ten days
USDA’s dashboard listed 47 confirmed U.S. cases (46 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 2 active, 45 inactive — after a goat in Val Verde County was confirmed August 25. Both currently active U.S. cases are the county’s two August detections (the August 16 sheep and the August 25 goat). TAHC’s August 26 modified order redesignated the area Infested Zone 19.A; TAHC reports 16 affected counties across 37 premises, and parts of 23 counties remain under movement restrictions.
Count reaches 46; Val Verde County confirms its first case
USDA’s dashboard listed 46 confirmed U.S. cases (45 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 4 active, 42 inactive — after a sheep in Val Verde County, detected August 15, was added to the federal count August 16. It is the 16th Texas county with a case and only the second August confirmation, a marked slowdown from July’s 14. TAHC opened Infested Zone 19 in northern Val Verde, extending into parts of Crockett and Sutton; parts of 23 counties remain under movement restrictions.
Count reaches 45; sheep case in Terrell County opens August
USDA’s dashboard listed 45 confirmed U.S. cases (44 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 13 active, 32 inactive — after a sheep in Terrell County was confirmed August 5, the county’s fifth case and the first new detection since July 31. TAHC issued a modified order for Pecos and Terrell counties the same day; the infested zone still spans 23 counties.
Count reaches 44; Brewster adds two cases, infested zone extends to Presidio
USDA’s dashboard listed 44 confirmed U.S. cases (43 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 12 active, 32 inactive — after cattle in Brewster County were confirmed July 29 and 30 and a sheep in Pecos County on July 31. TAHC’s July 30 order extended the infested zone into Presidio County, bringing movement restrictions to parts of 23 counties.
- Confirmed case41 TX cases
Count reaches 42; Jim Hogg, Pecos and Uvalde added to the case map
USDA’s dashboard listed 42 confirmed U.S. cases (41 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) after goats in Sutton County were confirmed July 21. A review of USDA’s case-level data added three counties that had been carried as quarantine-only: Jim Hogg (June 26), Pecos (June 29, the first Texas dog case) and Uvalde (June 29). Movement restrictions cover parts of 22 counties, and interstate pet-transport rules began squeezing Texas animal shelters.
Count hits 41; Starr County declares disaster, Schleicher confirms first case
USDA’s dashboard listed 41 confirmed U.S. cases (40 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 12 active, 29 inactive. Starr County’s first case, a calf north of Roma, drew a county disaster declaration on July 20; Schleicher County confirmed its first detection July 19, and a goat case was confirmed in Gillespie County. USDA reported 591 screwworm traps now deployed across Mexico.
Cases reach 35 nationally as July slows; Brewster County added
USDA data released July 12 put the outbreak at 35 confirmed cases (34 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — 19 active, 16 inactive. Crockett County leads with 11 cases; a new detection landed in Brewster County. Just four new infections in early July, versus 31 in June, hinted the response may be gaining ground.
- Confirmed case31 TX cases
Outbreak reaches 32 cases across 12 Texas counties
USDA confirmed 32 infestations total (31 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) spanning 12 Texas counties across 23 premises. Crockett County has emerged as the epicenter, reported to lead the state with about eight cases.
- Confirmed case30 TX cases
Cases climb to 31; spread to Crockett County
USDA confirmed 31 infestations total (30 in Texas, 1 in New Mexico) — the latest two sheep in Crockett County, ~300 miles southwest of Dallas.
- Milestone25 TX cases
US and Mexico open Metapa, Chiapas sterile-fly plant
The $50M+ facility will produce up to 100M sterile flies weekly for the cross-border fight.
- Confirmed case25 TX cases
Cases rise to 25; ground-vehicle fly releases begin
USDA began its first ground-vehicle sterile fly releases amid 8,000+ traps and 59,000+ samples.
- Policy12 TX cases
USDA commits $105M to 40 Grand Challenge projects
Funding from 226 proposals included Texas A&M electron-beam sterilization research.
- Policy12 TX cases
Abbott disaster declaration covers all 254 counties
Texas launched screwworm.texas.gov as the FAO and IAEA opened a five-year sterile-insect project spanning 20+ countries.
- Policy11 TX cases
Texas secures federal funding for 15 more inspectors
A USDA cooperative agreement funded 15 new TAHC positions as 13 counties sat under quarantine.
- Confirmed case11 TX cases
Spread reaches ~200 miles to Sutton and Tom Green
USDA confirmed at least 12 cases (mostly cattle, plus goats and a dog) spanning ~200 miles from the initial Zavala site.
- Policy
Abbott launches free NWS inspector training
A free four-hour AgriLife Learn certification course opened to expand the pool of trained inspectors.
San Angelo / Tom Green declare disaster; 11 cases
A bovine case near Grape Creek brought the outbreak to 11 cases; quarantine grew to 12 counties.
- Policy6 TX cases
Abbott activates State EOC; six cases, 10-county zone
With new detections in La Salle, Gillespie and Edwards counties, Gov. Abbott raised the State Emergency Operations Center to Level II.
First U.S. case in 60 years — Zavala County
USDA confirmed NWS in a three-week-old calf near La Pryor — the first U.S. case since eradication in the 1960s. TAHC established an infested zone.
- Approach31 mi from border
Within 31 miles of Texas; CBP launches border campaign
The closest approach — 31 miles — prompted a bilingual CBP awareness campaign across Laredo-area ports of entry.
- Milestone
USDA opens Knipling-Bushland research lab in Kerrville
A new 52,000-sq-ft federal livestock-insects lab opened in Kerrville as Mexico reported cases climbing in Nuevo León and Coahuila.
- Approach57 mi from border
Closest yet — 57 miles, found in a domestic cat
A confirmation in a 16-month-old cat put the pest 57 miles from the border as 100M sterile flies were released weekly.
- Policy
Texas Senate convenes emergency hearing
The Senate agriculture committee heard testimony from USDA, TPWD, Texas A&M and TAHC on the $750M Moore Air Base sterile-fly facility.
USDA extends sterile-fly releases to Eagle Pass
Sterile fly operations expanded into Maverick County, shifting from reactive containment to a proactive barrier.
- Approach119 mi from border
Jumps to a new Mexican state — Coahuila, 119 miles out
A May 1 Coahuila detection marked a westward expansion; TDA expanded trapping with Swormlure.
- Policy60 mi from border
FDA authorizes Negasunt Powder for emergency use
The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for a topical powder to prevent and treat infestations — its second screwworm EUA that week.
- Policy
Florida restricts livestock from six Texas counties
Florida required enhanced screening for animals from Zapata, Jim Hogg, Starr, Hidalgo, Webb and Brooks counties — before any U.S. case.
- Approach60 mi from border
Advances to 60 miles; Miller activates emergency response
A Nuevo León detection just 60 miles from the border — a 30-mile advance in two weeks — triggered state emergency protocols.
- Policy90 mi from border
USDA APHIS releases updated Response Playbook
APHIS published a revised playbook covering surveillance, spread reduction and business continuity.
- Approach90 mi from border
Detected 90 miles from Texas in Nuevo León
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller warned of a detection ~90 miles south of the border — the northernmost to that point.
Frequently asked questions
Official sources
- USDA APHIS — NWS confirmed U.S. cases
- USDA APHIS — Stop Screwworm program
- Texas Animal Health Commission — NWS response
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension — New World Screwworm
- State of Texas — screwworm.texas.gov
- FDA — Animal drugs for New World Screwworm
Case counts and county lists are compiled from our ongoing screwworm coverage, each article citing its primary sources. Figures reflect the most recent USDA APHIS total as of October 8, 2026 and are updated as new counts are published.
Protect your property
Screwworm is a livestock and wildlife emergency, but Texas homes face year-round pest pressure. Find licensed help and pest guides: