- USDA APHIS will review its New World Screwworm Response Playbook every quarter through a new stakeholder feedback process.
- The reviews are intended to incorporate field experience, stakeholder input and emerging science into federal response guidance.
- The first virtual stakeholder meeting under the roadmap is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2026, followed by a comment review period.
- Stakeholders can provide feedback through agriculture industry associations or submit comments directly to APHIS.
- The playbook covers surveillance, control, management of infested animals, coordination among responders and continuity of business.
- Quarterly stakeholder meetings and review cycles are scheduled through September 2027.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is establishing a quarterly process for reviewing and updating the federal New World Screwworm Response Playbook as animal health officials continue responding to the parasitic pest.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said the new roadmap is designed to keep federal response guidance aligned with field experience, stakeholder feedback and emerging scientific information.
The New World Screwworm (NWS) Response Playbook is intended for federal, state, tribal and local responders. It addresses coordination of response operations, efforts to prevent the pest from becoming established in new areas, management of infested animals, fly surveillance and control, continuity of business and information sharing.
“The Playbook was always intended to be a living document,” Dudley Hoskins, USDA under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, said in the announcement.
Hoskins also highlighted collaboration with the Texas Animal Health Commission and New Mexico Livestock Board during the current U.S. response.
Stakeholders to have recurring opportunities for input
APHIS initially released the playbook in April 2026 after receiving input from state animal health officials, federal agencies, tribal governments, veterinary organizations and livestock and wildlife groups.
Under the new process, APHIS will hold a virtual stakeholder meeting each quarter. The agency is encouraging individuals to work through their agriculture industry associations, which can represent members during the meetings and submit feedback on their behalf.
Comments can also be submitted directly to APHIS at FAD.PReP.Comments@usda.gov.
Following each meeting, APHIS will review and synthesize the comments and determine whether the Response Playbook or associated policy and guidance documents should be revised.
Review schedule runs through fiscal 2027
The first stakeholder meeting is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2026, with APHIS planning to review comments from Sept. 21 through Oct. 4.
Additional meetings are planned for the weeks of Dec. 1, 2026; March 8, 2027; June 7, 2027; and Sept. 6, 2027. Each will be followed by a designated comment review period.
USDA said the recurring process is intended to maintain coordination among states, territories, tribes, livestock and other industry groups, wildlife organizations and additional partners involved in NWS preparedness and response.
Veterinarians, producers and other stakeholders can access USDA’s New World Screwworm Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness and Response resources for the Response Playbook and related guidance. Additional federal NWS information is available through Screwworm.gov.
Information sourced from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
