06/15/2026
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - DOG FOUND INFECTED IN NEW MEXICO! ISSUED BY: The World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S.org)
TARGET REGION: San Antonio, Bexar County, and All South-Central Texas Municipalities
CRITICAL URGENCY: BIOLOGICAL EMERGENCY / LEVEL 3 / SUBSTANTIAL: A DIRECT THREAT IS POSSIBLE AND LIKELY. REQUIRES HEIGHTENED VIGILANCE, BUT NOT IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT
šØ CRITICAL BIOLOGICAL ALERT: NEW SCREWWORM DETECTION POSED TO DEVASTATE OUTDOOR ANIMAL POPULATION
The World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S.org) is issuing an urgent public service announcement regarding a potential catastrophic biological threat to the animal population of Central Texas. A potential mass infestation and exposure event of New World Screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is looming, critically threatening the thousands of stray, homeless, and outdoor dogs / cats / animals currently unable to find safety or medical monitoring indoors.
Unlike standard fly strikes, a screwworm infestation is a flesh-eating parasite emergency that can turn fatal in days. This is an active ecological and municipal crisis.
Why This is a Mass Emergency
The New World Screwworm was eradicated from the United States decades ago through intensive biological management, but its reintroduction poses an immediate, compounding emergency for South-Central Texasāspecifically targeting our massive population of unmonitored stray dogs and community cats:
Flesh-Eating Parasitism: Screwworm flies do not lay eggs in dead tissue; they target live, warm-blooded animals. Females seek out any open woundāa minor scratch, a flea bite, a collar chafe, or the umbilical cord of newborn littersāand lay hundreds of eggs. Within hours, the larvae hatch and burrow deep into the living tissue, literally eating the animal alive.
Rapid, Unchecked Transmission via Strays: Central Texas, and San Antonio in particular, has a dense population of free-roaming and homeless dogs. Because these animals lack human caretakers to inspect them daily, they serve as the perfect, unmonitored biological vectors for a massive outbreak, spreading the parasite rapidly across neighborhoods.
Unprecedented Shelter & Veterinary Strain: If screwworm takes hold in the stray population, local animal infrastructure will completely collapse. Facilities like San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) and area rescues are already operating at maximum capacity. Triage, isolation, and intensive treatment for thousands of infested animals will completely exhaust municipal and non-profit resources.
The Danger to Owned Outdoor Dogs, Cats and Domestic Pets
Keeping dogs tethered or confined exclusively outdoors in San Antonio and the surrounding areas multiplies their risk exponentially. For owned outdoor animals, a minor, unnoticed injury becomes a death sentence.
The Chain Link Vulnerability: Under the Texas Safe Outdoor Dogs Act, dogs must not be kept in conditions that jeopardize their health. Tethered or poorly sheltered dogs are prone to minor cuts, insect bites, and abrasions from fences or chains. These tiny wounds are exactly what attract the screwworm fly.
Rapid Progression: A minor scratch can turn into a massive, deep-tissue infestation within 24 to 48 hours. By the time an owner notices behavioral changes (extreme lethargy, scratching, or a distinct, foul odor), severe, irreversible tissue destruction may have already occurred.
Action Plan for Pet Owners:
Bring Animals Indoors: The single most effective way to protect dogs and cats from fly strike is to move them into a secure, indoor environment where pests cannot reach them.
Daily Body Inspections: If your pets spend any time outside, inspect them daily from head to toe. Look for any broken skin, ticks, or weeping sores.
Immediate Wound Care: Treat even the smallest scratch immediately under veterinary guidance. Use fly-repellent ointments approved for animal use on any healing skin.
The Greater Threat: Exposure to the Entire Community Cat and Dog Population
If a mass exposure event takes hold in the outdoor animal population, the biological impact will devastate both feral and domestic populations alike across South-Central Texas:
Exposure Vector
Impact on Outdoor/Stray Population
Threat to Owned/Indoor Pets & Community
Feral Cat & Stray Dog Breeding
Newborn litters born on the streets are prime targets. Screwworms aggressively infest the navels of newborns, wiping out entire litters rapidly.
The sheer volume of flies breeding in stray populations increases the regional "pest load," meaning the flies will actively migrate into residential yards.
Aggressive Behavioral Shifts
Infested animals suffer immense, constant physical pain, causing them to become highly aggressive, unpredictable, or reclusive.
Elevates the risk of defensive animal bites to the public, with the added complication of transmitting secondary bacterial infections to humans.
Zoonotic Escalation
Screwworms do not differentiate between animals and humans. A massive infestation in the local animal population directly threatens human health.
Any person with an open wound, particularly vulnerable populations like the unhoused or outdoor workers, faces direct exposure to infestation.
Immediate Reporting Protocols
The World Animal Awareness Society urges all residents, field researchers, and rescue volunteers to exercise extreme vigilance. If you see a stray animal or a pet with an active weeping wound that appears to contain crawling larvae, do not attempt to treat it in the field without proper containment.
Report to Local Authorities: Call 311 (210-207-6000) immediately to report suspected cases to San Antonio Animal Care Services code enforcement.
State & Federal Notification: Because screwworm is a reportable agricultural disaster, suspected sightings must be flagged immediately to state veterinarians and the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC).
For field data tracking, documentation updates, and to support our forensic monitoring of the stray population in San Antonio, visit WA2S.org.
