As New World Screwworm continues its push north through Mexico and into the southern United States, cattle producers are looking for clear, practical guidance on what to watch for and how to respond. In part two of this series, Dr. Jody Wade, Senior Professional Services Veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim, shares his perspective on prevention, early detection, and treatment — drawn from conversations with producers, veterinarians, and global parasitologists who have battled the pest for years.
A Familiar Threat, a Fresh Concern
Dr. Wade has been fielding a steady stream of questions from producers, including many while he attended the recent Florida Cattlemen’s Meeting.
“Producers are nervous about it, especially here in Florida, because the last time we had it here in the United States, it was here in the Everglades,” Dr. Wade said. “There’s a lot of concerns about when they might see it here again and what they need to be doing to try to prevent the incursion of the fly back into this part of the country.”
That history has producers looking for a game plan — one built on prevention first, with a clear response ready if the fly does arrive.
Know the Warning Signs
The single most important habit producers can build right now, Wade said, is regular, close observation of their herds — specifically, checking for open wounds. “They need to be very vigilant. They need to be looking at cattle on a regular basis and looking for wounds,” he said.
Screwworm flies are drawn to any break in the skin. Dr. Wade pointed to the most common entry points veterinarians and parasitologists watch in endemic regions: umbilical cords on newborn calves, castration lesions, and dehorning wounds. Any open wound, he said, is “a nidus for these screwworm invasions.”
The scale of the risk in truly endemic areas is sobering. Dr. Wade relayed a conversation with a parasitologist in Brazil, who told him that during the wet season, essentially every newborn calf becomes infected with New World Screwworm. It’s a reminder of how aggressively the parasite exploits open wounds when conditions allow — and why catching infections early matters so much.
Treatment: Speed Is Everything
What sets screwworm apart from many other parasites producers deal with is its appetite for live tissue. Unlike parasites that feed on dead or decaying flesh, screwworm larvae burrow into healthy tissue and keep feeding, causing wounds to expand rapidly.
“This thing is live tissue. That’s the big difference between it and some of the other parasites that we deal with. It absolutely loves live tissue,” Dr. Wade said. “So once it gets into those wounds, those wounds will continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger.”
The good news, according to Dr. Wade, is that producers aren’t starting from scratch. “We have some phenomenal drugs available that we can use as far as prevention and as far as treatment as well. So we have the tools to combat it. It’s just making sure that we stay aware of it.”
For producers looking for current, science-based guidance, he pointed to screwworm.gov as a go-to resource. The site tracks new outbreaks around the country and posts updated recommendations on prevention and treatment protocols. His bottom line: once a producer spots a lesion consistent with screwworm, treatment needs to happen immediately — waiting even a short time allows the wound, and the infestation, to grow.
Don’t Assume It’s Just a Southern Problem
Most of the current attention is focused on Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma — states nearest the incursion — but Dr. Wade cautioned producers farther north against tuning the issue out. The reason comes down to how the U.S. cattle industry operates. “That’s our biggest incriminating deal in the cattle industry in the United States: the way we move cattle across the country,” Dr. Wade said. “It’d be very, very easy for animals that are infected with screwworm to get on a truck and be in Kansas the next day.”
Cold weather does offer some natural protection. Northern states typically get cool enough in winter to knock the parasite back. But states like Florida and South Texas provide close to ideal year-round conditions for screwworm, meaning that without sustained control efforts, the pest could establish a lasting foothold and continue seeding new cases elsewhere.
The Message: Stay Vigilant, Don’t Panic
Asked for a final word of advice, Dr. Wade returned to the same theme that ran through the entire conversation: awareness without alarm.
“Don’t panic. We’ve had it here before. It’s very controllable,” he said, noting that veterinarians and producers in endemic regions of South America deal with screwworm as a routine, manageable part of herd health — not a catastrophic event.
His closing advice for producers is straightforward: keep a close, regular eye on animals for wounds and signs of infestation, treat quickly when something is found, and report suspected cases right away.
“Reporting this thing and making sure we keep track of it is probably going to be the biggest issue,” Wade said. “So we can keep a fence around it and get it back out.”
Working closely with a herd veterinarian, staying current on regional outbreak reports, and treating wounds — of any kind — as a priority rather than an afterthought will go a long way toward keeping New World Screwworm from regaining a permanent foothold in the U.S. cattle industry.
***AUDIO*** Hear the full conversation with Dr. Jody Wade below:
Screwworm Tips, Treatments and Prevention (Part 2)
As New World Screwworm continues its push north through Mexico and into the southern United States, cattle producers are looking for clear, practical guidance on what to watch for and how to respond. In part two of this series, Dr. Jody Wade, Senior Professional Services Veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim, shares his perspective on prevention, early detection, and treatment — drawn from conversations with producers, veterinarians, and global parasitologists who have battled the pest for years.
A Familiar Threat, a Fresh Concern
Dr. Wade has been fielding a steady stream of questions from producers, including many while he attended the recent Florida Cattlemen’s Meeting.
“Producers are nervous about it, especially here in Florida, because the last time we had it here in the United States, it was here in the Everglades,” Dr. Wade said. “There’s a lot of concerns about when they might see it here again and what they need to be doing to try to prevent the incursion of the fly back into this part of the country.”
That history has producers looking for a game plan — one built on prevention first, with a clear response ready if the fly does arrive.
Know the Warning Signs
The single most important habit producers can build right now, Wade said, is regular, close observation of their herds — specifically, checking for open wounds. “They need to be very vigilant. They need to be looking at cattle on a regular basis and looking for wounds,” he said.
Screwworm flies are drawn to any break in the skin. Dr. Wade pointed to the most common entry points veterinarians and parasitologists watch in endemic regions: umbilical cords on newborn calves, castration lesions, and dehorning wounds. Any open wound, he said, is “a nidus for these screwworm invasions.”
The scale of the risk in truly endemic areas is sobering. Dr. Wade relayed a conversation with a parasitologist in Brazil, who told him that during the wet season, essentially every newborn calf becomes infected with New World Screwworm. It’s a reminder of how aggressively the parasite exploits open wounds when conditions allow — and why catching infections early matters so much.
Treatment: Speed Is Everything
What sets screwworm apart from many other parasites producers deal with is its appetite for live tissue. Unlike parasites that feed on dead or decaying flesh, screwworm larvae burrow into healthy tissue and keep feeding, causing wounds to expand rapidly.
“This thing is live tissue. That’s the big difference between it and some of the other parasites that we deal with. It absolutely loves live tissue,” Dr. Wade said. “So once it gets into those wounds, those wounds will continue to get bigger and bigger and bigger.”
The good news, according to Dr. Wade, is that producers aren’t starting from scratch. “We have some phenomenal drugs available that we can use as far as prevention and as far as treatment as well. So we have the tools to combat it. It’s just making sure that we stay aware of it.”
For producers looking for current, science-based guidance, he pointed to screwworm.gov as a go-to resource. The site tracks new outbreaks around the country and posts updated recommendations on prevention and treatment protocols. His bottom line: once a producer spots a lesion consistent with screwworm, treatment needs to happen immediately — waiting even a short time allows the wound, and the infestation, to grow.
Don’t Assume It’s Just a Southern Problem
Most of the current attention is focused on Texas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma — states nearest the incursion — but Dr. Wade cautioned producers farther north against tuning the issue out. The reason comes down to how the U.S. cattle industry operates. “That’s our biggest incriminating deal in the cattle industry in the United States: the way we move cattle across the country,” Dr. Wade said. “It’d be very, very easy for animals that are infected with screwworm to get on a truck and be in Kansas the next day.”
Cold weather does offer some natural protection. Northern states typically get cool enough in winter to knock the parasite back. But states like Florida and South Texas provide close to ideal year-round conditions for screwworm, meaning that without sustained control efforts, the pest could establish a lasting foothold and continue seeding new cases elsewhere.
The Message: Stay Vigilant, Don’t Panic
Asked for a final word of advice, Dr. Wade returned to the same theme that ran through the entire conversation: awareness without alarm.
“Don’t panic. We’ve had it here before. It’s very controllable,” he said, noting that veterinarians and producers in endemic regions of South America deal with screwworm as a routine, manageable part of herd health — not a catastrophic event.
His closing advice for producers is straightforward: keep a close, regular eye on animals for wounds and signs of infestation, treat quickly when something is found, and report suspected cases right away.
“Reporting this thing and making sure we keep track of it is probably going to be the biggest issue,” Wade said. “So we can keep a fence around it and get it back out.”
Working closely with a herd veterinarian, staying current on regional outbreak reports, and treating wounds — of any kind — as a priority rather than an afterthought will go a long way toward keeping New World Screwworm from regaining a permanent foothold in the U.S. cattle industry.
***AUDIO*** Hear the full conversation with Dr. Jody Wade below:
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Screwworm Tips, Treatments and Prevention (Part 1)