It’s the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) main event: the Hero, a buff sterile fly, versus the Enemy, a menacing screwworm.
That’s the idea behind the agency’s boxing-style social media post that seeks to raise public awareness of the deadly parasite threatening US cattle herds. The image, which was inspired by President Donald Trump’s Ultimate Fighting Championship event on the White House lawn last month, helped ‘introduce the New World screwworm issue to audiences who otherwise may have never encountered it,’ according to Michael Abboud, deputy chief of staff for public affairs at the USDA.
The creative post is just one piece of the USDA’s media campaign against the pest. In addition to social media, the government’s communications approach has included outreach through local media, press releases and its screwworm.gov website. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has staged numerous press conferences to highlight the agency’s strategies. The goal is to reach as wide an audience as possible, from farmers and ranchers to pet owners.
‘Public awareness is one of the most important tools we have to prevent the spread of New World screwworm,’ Abboud said in an emailed statement.
There is a lot at stake. Screwworm is a fly that lays hundreds of eggs in the open wounds of warm-blooded animals. If left untreated, the parasite’s larvae begin feeding on living flesh, leading to injuries that can be fatal. That poses a threat to the meat industry at a time when the US cattle herd is already at its lowest level in generations, pushing beef prices to record highs.
Screwworm was first detected in Zavala County, Texas, early last month after a recent outbreak in Mexico spread across the border. Confirmed cases in the US have climbed to more than 40. The USDA is also set to allow live cattle shipments from Mexico again after a halt that had been largely in place since late 2024, the agency said Friday, highlighting the need for even more due diligence amid greater livestock movement.
As the social media post suggests, the USDA is currently combating screwworm with sterile flies to halt reproduction, but the agency will not be able to produce enough flies to eradicate the pest until November 2027. And so information campaigns have taken on increasingly prominent roles in combating the resurgence of the parasite.
Some of the USDA’s media content is self-promotional, highlighting the agency’s efforts on sterile flies. But a key element of the strategy is the spread of information, aimed at helping ranchers, veterinarians and wildlife professionals to prevent, identify and treat screwworm.
The material includes infographics and webinars on what screwworms look like, a description of the pest’s typical life cycle, what the USDA’s sterile fly technique entails and how to reduce the risk of screwworm in animals. As the last American screwworm outbreak was extinguished decades ago, Abboud said that many people who work with livestock and wildlife have little firsthand understanding of the parasite.
‘That lack of familiarity makes accurate, timely communication even more important,’ Abboud said.
Other organizations have also been raising the alarm about screwworm, including to alert pet owners. While most cases have been reported in cattle, screwworm can infect any live animal, and the parasite has already been found in dogs. Pet adoption center Barks and Brews, located near the US-Mexico border in Mission, Texas, posted information on the center’s social media platforms.
Owner Esmer Garcia said she was prompted to post about the outbreak due to recent screwworm-related challenges that she and others in the pet rescue industry are facing.
‘It’s making it a little more difficult for us in the rescue community because so many of us do send our animals out of Texas,’ Garcia said. ‘Now the receiving states are requiring more testing or quarantine, or actually some states are just not accepting cats and dogs from Texas.’
Garcia said some owners had expressed concerns to her about how to best protect their pets. She advises pet owners to consider FDA-approved screwworm preventatives for their animals and to routinely observe their pets for open wounds.
‘An animal owner or caretaker who recognizes the warning signs … and calls their veterinarian immediately can make the difference between a treatable case and one that results in death,’ Michael Bailey, president of the American Veterinary Association, said in an emailed statement.
During the US’s previous screwworm outbreak in the 1970s and 1980s, information campaigns also played a large role in alerting the public about the parasite. Of course, that was before the internet and social media, making it more difficult to reach the public. The old-school campaign-conducted by the USDA in conjunction with the Mexican Department of Agriculture, state services, rancher organizations and other agricultural association-featured brochures, cartoon posters, films, pins and stickers.
In 1977, the USDA and its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service division created a sub campaign: ‘Mission ’77: Stamp Out Screwworms.’
‘The success of the Mission ’77 campaign can be attributed in large part to the public information campaign … eradication efforts became much more visible throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico,’ the USDA’s National Agriculture Library says on its website.
As screwworm cases in the US declined in the late ’70s and early ’80s, the US turned its attention to eradicating screwworm in Mexico and Central America. A US-Mexico commission was established, and its campaign included the release of a set of posters featuring cartoon cowboy-esque sterile flies lassoing screwworms.
Today, the US and Mexican agriculture agencies have again created a joint public information commission about screwworm, this time including posters, videos from veterinarians and audio files on screwworm prevention.
‘USDA’s historical records show that eradication was never just about science-it was depended on educating producers, veterinarians and the public to recognize infestations early, treat wounds promptly, report suspected cases and participate in the broader eradication effort,’ Abboud said.
The method to eradicate screwworm has not been without debate. Outgoing Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller has publicly clashed with Rollins over her agency’s use of sterile flies to combat the outbreak. Despite their disagreements, however, both emphasize the importance of information campaigns.
The Texas Department of Agriculture’s social media posts about screwworm often prominently feature Miller donning a cowboy hat. The agency’s website also has a color-coded, interactive map that tracks confirmed cases of the disease.
‘If you don’t know it’s there, you don’t know to look for it,’ Miller said. ‘So, it’s imperative that we get the word out.’