05/14/2026
🐴 Animal Health Alert for Livestock & Horse Owners 🐄
USU Extension is encouraging producers and animal owners to stay aware of two diseases that could impact livestock and horses this summer and fall: Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) and New World Screwworm.
🔹 Vesicular Stomatitis (VS) is a viral disease that can cause painful blisters and sores in the mouth, nose, and hooves of horses and livestock. It is spread by biting insects and has already been reported in nearby states.
Learn more:
https://www.equinediseasecc.org/vesicular-stomatitis
🔹 New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae infest wounds on animals, causing severe tissue damage. Recent detections in Central America and Mexico have increased concern about possible spread.
Learn more:
https://ag.utah.gov/animal-industry/animal-health-program/new-world-screwworm/
These diseases could also affect livestock and 4-H events this season, so awareness and prevention are important.
New World ScrewwormAnimal HealthHomeAnimal IndustryAnimal Health ProgramNew World ScrewwormNew World Screwworm (NWS) is a fly, and the larvae of this fly burrow into living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing large wounds and death in untreated animals. The fly was eradicated from the United Sta...