Why Pennsylvania is worried about the screwworm threat

The screwworm has arrived in the U.S., and Pennsylvania is taking steps to guard against a creeping invasion.

Why it matters: The parasite is threatening the nation's cattle, a $700 million industry in Pennsylvania.

The big picture: The Department of Agriculture is gearing up for a $1 billion+ fight against the screwworm, AP reports.

It'll cost about $750 million to set up a plant to produce and release 300 million sterile male screwworms every week.

This technique — in which the males mate with wild females, preventing reproduction — has long been the gold standard for eradicating the pest.

Driving the news: Pennsylvania has no confirmed cases of the screwworm, but has ordered a quarantine.

It prohibits livestock and other susceptible animals from entering or staying in Pennsylvania from states affected by the screwworm.

The quarantine, which took effect this month, is intended to protect the health of 1.6 million cattle throughout the state.

The order requires veterinarians to examine animals under movement restrictions and confirm they're healthy.

Threat level: The first case of screwworm in the U.S. was detected in South Texas on June 3.

There are now 12 confirmed cases in the U.S. — mostly in cattle — including 11 in Texas and one in New Mexico.

Between the lines: The outbreak comes with beef prices near record highs and the cattle herd at its lowest level in 75 years, depressed by a prolonged drought.

"Given that this possible screwworm outbreak could lead to a larger supply shock on top of an existing supply shortage, prices could increase further," Brandon Parsons, an economist at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, told CNBC this week.

Reality check: The screwworm's arrival in the U.S. hasn't measurably affected beef prices so far.

But its spread in Mexico has reduced cattle imports and added to price pressures.

Zoom in: The arrival of the pest on U.S. soil comes a year after the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service lost more than 2,100 employees — roughly 25% of its workforce — as part of the administration's sweeping federal workforce cuts.

That's the agency that monitors and responds to threats like the screwworm.

Before the first case was discovered, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called the federal response "slow" and "bureaucratic."

The backstory: For decades, the screwworms had been contained in Panama, but starting in 2023, cases began popping up farther north, until they crossed onto U.S. soil this month.