APHIS Announces New World Screwworm Webinars for Animal Industry, Veterinarians, and Animal Health Regulatory Officials

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will host informational webinars on August 12 (for veterinarians and animal health regulatory officials) and August 13 (for animal industry) about the New World screwworm. These webinars are designed to provide interested stakeholders with information about the pest’s life cycle and the damage it causes; explain how to detect and report suspected cases; and review USDA’s response plans, should there be a detection in the United States.

About New World Screwworm

New World screwworm (NWS, Cochliomyia hominivorax) is a devastating pest that can cause serious damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans. USDA successfully eradicated NWS from the United States in 1966 and eliminated a small outbreak from the Florida Keys in 2017.  In 2021, NWS breached the biological barrier in Panama at the Darien Gap, which had successfully contained NWS to South America for decades. In 2023, Panama reported a significant increase in the number of NWS cases. Since then, NWS has spread northward through Central America. In November 2024, it reached the southern states of Mexico.  NWS continues to spread within Mexico in the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and more recently in Oaxaca and Veracruz.  On July 8, 2025, Mexico confirmed the northernmost case to date in a calf in Veracruz, 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. 

Webinar Details

For Veterinarians and Animal Health Regulatory Officials:

 

August 12, 2025 
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (ET) 
Microsoft Teams

 

Register

For Animal Industry:

 

August 13, 2025
1:00 – 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Microsoft Teams

 

Register

Both webinars will cover the following topics:

  • Biology and life cycle
  • Distribution and current outbreak
  • Recognizing infestations (clinical signs)
  • Reporting infestations
  • Sample collection methods
  • USDA actions and planned response
  • Treatment and control

The webinars will be recorded. These webinars do not have Continuing Education Units.

Registration is required.

More Information

For more information about these events, please send questions to APHIS.VS.Training@usda.gov.