en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed two cases of New World screwworm larvae infestation in rural Texas on June 8, delaying expectations for a recovery in U.S. meat supplies. The number of recent pest detections in the state has risen to four.

This news has sparked market concerns that the insect could spread across the largest cattle-producing region in the U.S., which is home to over 12 million head of cattle. As a result, shares of major U.S. meat producers JBS and Tyson Foods fell sharply at the start of trading on Monday, dropping more than 5% in the first few hours.

Currently, the outbreak remains concentrated in two locations, but there are fears that new cases may emerge in other areas, restricting animal movement and further reducing cattle supplies to meat processing plants, which are already facing their lowest slaughter volumes in 75 years.

These confirmed cases are the first reported by the USDA in about a decade. For cattle, the U.S. had not confirmed a screwworm larvae infestation since 1976, when an outbreak in Texas affected over 1.5 million head. The female insect lays eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals; after hatching, the larvae burrow into living tissue and feed on it, potentially causing death if untreated.

Since the first case was reported on June 3, feeder cattle futures in Chicago have fluctuated, rising about 3% since then. Other responses include restrictions specifically limiting animal movement out of Texas. The Georgia Department of Agriculture announced on June 5 that it would ban livestock and pets from Texas from entering the state. Canada has decided to block any animal transport that has been in Texas within the past three weeks.

To address this new threat, the U.S. government announced an investment of approximately $1 billion to eradicate the screwworm. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins disclosed the plan to CNBC. To treat infections, the government has approved a range of drugs for emergency use to combat the larvae. The strategy to eliminate the flies replicates a successful approach from 50 years ago: releasing sterile flies to limit the pest's reproductive capacity.

The USDA plans to release 8 million insects per week in the current containment zone, which covers a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius around the initial discovery site. However, according to Rollins, 400 million flies per week are needed to be effective. The U.S. government currently has a facility in Panama that produces and releases 100 million flies per week. Rollins stated, "We need far more than 100 million flies per week." A new plant, the first of its kind in the U.S., is being built in Texas and will provide 300 million sterile flies per week. However, the plant will not begin operations until November 2027 and will not initially operate at full capacity.

Epidemiological investigations have been launched to determine the origin and spread of this insect within the U.S. The country has been monitoring the movement of this parasite in northern Mexico, and many believe it was only a matter of time before infections appeared in the U.S. Even closing the border to cattle imports from Mexico over a year ago failed to stop the pest's spread. The current battle is to contain it.

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