US boosts drone surveillance as flesh-eating screwworms spread in Texas

The US Department of Agriculture and Customs and Border Protection have redirected at least 200 Department of Homeland Security drones from border surveillance to scanning wild animals and livestock for signs of New World Screwworm infestation, according to Ars Technica. The effort follows the first confirmed screwworm cases detected in South Texas in June 2026.

The USDA described the operation as "one of the most extensive animal-health surveillance operations in the country," per social media posts on X and Facebook dated August 10. So far the agency reports conducting more than 1,000 drone flights and surveying more than 22,000 animals, per Ars Technica.

The New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly larva that hatches from eggs laid in the open wounds or body openings of warm-blooded animals — and humans. Without treatment, infestations can cause severe injury or death. The parasite had been eradicated from the United States decades ago but was detected again in South Texas in June, prompting the coordinated federal response now underway.

The drone fleet in use belongs to DHS and falls under CBP, an agency whose aircraft were originally deployed for border monitoring. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has been publicly engaged with the surveillance effort; the USDA released imagery of Rollins reviewing the drone technology with a CBP officer, per Ars Technica. The repurposing of border-security hardware for agricultural biosurveillance marks an unusual cross-agency deployment at scale.

The USDA's posts on both X and Facebook were published August 10, signaling an effort to broadly publicize the surveillance campaign as the infestation continues to spread in Texas. No timeline for containment or additional details on affected animal counts or confirmed infestation sites were available in the sources at the time of publication.