Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ) is fighting for the state as the New World screwworm is back in the United States for the first time in six decades, and it's getting closer to Arizona.
Schweikert co-led a bipartisan letter with Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pressing both departments for a stronger, better-coordinated response to the New World screwworm. As Cactus Politics reported, it is a parasitic fly whose larvae burrow into the living flesh of animals, causing wounds severe enough to kill livestock, pets, and wildlife if left untreated.
Now, strangely, the pest hadn't been seen in the United States in six decades until June 3, when federal agriculture officials confirmed a case in a calf in Zavala County, Texas.
The outbreak has since grown, spreading to additional livestock across Texas and crossing into New Mexico, where a pet dog became the first confirmed case outside of cattle country.
The fly has been advancing steadily northward through Central America and Mexico since 2023, and its arrival on U.S. soil has rattled ranching communities across the region.
Reaching Arizona
For Schweikert, the concern is close to home, with Arizona ranchers and veterinarians watching the outbreak's trajectory with growing unease, and he says they deserve answers, not vague reassurances.
"Arizona's ranchers and veterinarians need clear guidance as federal agencies respond to confirmed New World screwworm cases in Texas and New Mexico," he said. "Decades ago, the United States eradicated screwworm with sterile fly technology and aggressive field surveillance. Now we need to use those same tools, keep livestock producers informed, and stop this outbreak from spreading."
The letter asks USDA and HHS to lay out exactly what they have, and what they still need. That includes a breakdown of sterile fly production and dispersal capacity, surveillance resources in at-risk states, treatment guidance for producers and veterinarians, a staffing assessment, and an estimate of any additional funding required.
The lawmakers noted that some early steps have already been taken, including the completion of a sterile fly facility in Edinburg, Texas, and emergency authorization of animal treatments. But they made clear that the moment calls for more.
"The United States successfully eradicated NWS once before, through decades of sustained effort and scientific ingenuity," the letter states. "We are confident that with the full and coordinated mobilization of federal resources, we can do so again."
