AVMA House of Delegates Reviews Screwworm Response

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) House of Delegates has reviewed the ongoing US New World screwworm (NWS) outbreak and clinical response readiness during its annual session in Anaheim on 9-10 July 2026. With 37 cases now detected across two states since the first US mainland detection on 3 June and 17 currently active, the AVMA session focused on veterinary clinical readiness and the intensifying USDA response.

Dr. Theresa Kelliher, Nebraska delegate and House Advisory Committee member, framed NWS as a particularly challenging parasite for practitioners with limited direct experience. A wound infested with NWS larvae can grow from a quarter-inch on day one to five inches by day two, often proving fatal without prompt treatment. Adult female flies can lay up to 3,000 eggs across a 10 to 30-day lifespan, and are drawn to blood scent, making newborns with unprotected umbilicus and post-surgical sites particularly vulnerable. Suspected cases must be reported to the state animal health official or USDA APHIS area veterinarian in charge before treatment begins.

Dr. Brianna Schur, associate deputy administrator for USDA APHIS’s Veterinary Services, presented the federal response, built on the five-pronged eradication plan announced in June by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The US-Mexico border has remained closed to live animal movement since summer 2025. APHIS has updated its NWS Myiasis PReP Disease Response Strategy and published a new NWS Response Playbook, working with Mexican animal health authorities, EPA, CDC, FDA and US Fish and Wildlife. The $100 million New World Screwworm Grand Challenge, launched in January to fund detection, control and eradication research, began awarding grants this spring.

The commercial signal is a US animal health category positioned for years of sustained investment across parasiticides, wound care, diagnostics and vaccine development. With federal grant funding flowing, 11 FDA EUAs issued year to date and rapidly expanding clinical response infrastructure, expect continued procurement activity across Zoetis, Merck Animal Health, Elanco and Ceva through 2026 and 2027.

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