1. More Idaho dairy cattle hit with H5N1 avian flu
By Stephanie Soucheray, MA
CIDRAP News
June 18, 2026
Recent updates from the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) show a spike of H5N1 avian flu activity in Idaho dairy cattle, with 33 cattle affected on dairy milking facilities in the past 30 days. Utah also reported three H5N1 detections among cattle this month.
So far this year, APHIS has tracked 54 H5N1 cases among cattle, far fewer than the 917 reported in 2024. Last year, 171 cattle were sickened with avian flu.
In bird news, another live-bird market, this one in Providence, Rhode Island, reported avian flu in 450 birds. The detection comes one week after a bird market in Passaic, New Jersey, reported 670 sick animals.
Seal pup die-off
Finally, a preprint study yesterday suggests that more than 13,000 baby elephant seals from a group of 17,000 on Heard Island, off the coast of Australia, were killed by H5N1 avian flu since last August, representing more than 76% of the island's seal population.
Currently, Australia is the only continent in the world to have no cases of the H5N1 strain that can affect both birds and mammals.
Source: https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/more-idaho-dairy-cattle-hit-h5n1-avian-flu
New Mexico Updates for New World Screwworm and Vesicular Stomatitis
New Mexico Livestock Board
June 18, 2026
New World Screwworm (NWS):
June 18, 2026: Since the initial detection on June 6, 2026 of New World Screwworm (NWS) larvae in a dog in Lea County, State agencies including NMLB, NMDA, NMDOH and NMDOW, NMHSEM and local responders have performed surveillance and addressed calls from the public. As of 6/16/2026 the case in Lea County is considered inactive and the dog has made a successful recovery. The infested zone (IZ) remains in place until the criteria for release have been met.
Note: NWS does not affect the food supply, it is treatable if caught early and is spread by the NWS fly.
Update VSV:
June 18, 2026: To date three counties (Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Valencia) have been confirmed with vesicular stomatitis. New Mexico is now the third state in the US to have a confirmed case of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) this year. Premises under quarantine will remain so until at least 14 days from the onset of lesions in the last affected animal. Please see the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services VSV website here to read the current situation report for all confirmed cases in the US.
See Also:
New Mexico leaders push funding to fight screwworm after 1 local case [edited]
By KOB
June 18, 2026
SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico leaders are backing a bipartisan bill after 12 confirmed U.S. screwworm cases, including one case in a Lea County dog.
New Mexico State Veterinarian Dr. Samantha Holeck said the parasite has spread to New Mexico, though officials say they have not found any human cases.
The bill would create a grant program to train people to identify, treat, prevent and report screwworm. It would also support more livestock inspections and education for ranchers.
Texas Launches Centralized Hub for New World Screwworm Resources and Updates
Texas Border Report
June 19, 2026
AUSTIN ? Governor Greg Abbott announced the launch of an enhanced website that offers comprehensive information for Texans related to the New World screwworm (NWS). Located in the Texas Division of Emergency Management's Disaster Portal, Texans can visit screwworm.texas.gov to access a "one stop shop" of information and resources from state agency partners engaged in NWS response.
3. Project Launched on Use of Nuclear Technique to Target New World Screwworm Outbreak in Central America, Mexico and the United States [edited]
IAEA News Release
June 19, 2026
Vienna, Austria - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through their Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, are stepping up efforts to tackle the re-emergence of New World screwworm in Central America, Mexico and the United States through the application of a nuclear technique, as detections increase and emergency response efforts seek to contain the livestock pest.
The new CRP will bring together leading experts from more than 20 affected countries - including those in South America - to strengthen surveillance and control methods, improve mass-rearing and sterilization, study mating compatibility and competitiveness, and support the release of sterile flies. Changing weather patterns, globalization and unlawful transboundary animal movements have contributed to the pest's spread, creating new challenges for countries working to contain it.
Responding to the current outbreak could require up to 600 million sterile flies per week, but emergency response efforts are facing a shortage of sterile flies. The US-Panama commission (COPEG) facility in Panama - the only operational facility mass-rearing and sterilizing NWS - now produces about 100 million per week, while expanded capacity in Metapa de Dominguez, Mexico, and Mission, Texas, could add up to 400 million per week in the coming years.
The five-year project, with a planned budget of US $1 million, will include improving tools and methods for mass-rearing, sterilization, quality control and release.
4. New swine influenza vaccination technique can greatly strengthen disease protection
By Geitner Simmons, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
Phys.org
June 17, 2026
Husker scientists have developed a new swine influenza vaccination technique whose low cost and adaptability can greatly strengthen disease protection.
This progress, part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's overall focus on livestock vaccination innovation, directly benefits the state's $5 billion, 3.6 million-head swine sector.
The new vaccination approach, explained in a paper* in npj Vaccines, encases DNA into fat-like microscopic carriers, called lipid nanoparticles, that are then injected into pigs' muscle tissue. A single dose released DNA that generated strong antibody responses within seven to 14 days.
[*See: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-026-01473-1 ]
Previous DNA-focused vaccine approaches described in academic literature failed to generate such strong protective responses in combating swine influenza.
In addition, current swine influenza vaccines, which are formulated using whole inactivated virus particles, may sometimes enhance respiratory distress in pigs when they are later infected with a different, non-matching viral strain. The Nebraska approach, in contrast, produced no worsening of respiratory conditions but instead prevented it.
Full text: https://phys.org/news/2026-06-swine-influenza-vaccination-technique-greatly.html
5. Strangles Case Confirmed in King County, Washington
EDCC Health Watch
TheHorse.com
June 18, 2026
According to the assistant state veterinarian, a 23-year-old horse at a private facility in King County, Washington, has tested positive for strangles. The horse is quarantined and receiving veterinary care.
Full text: https://thehorse.com/1145425/strangles-case-confirmed-in-king-county-washington/
6. Indiana's Sheep Industry Gets a Major Boost With New Purdue-Led Flock Exchange Program
WKKG.com
June 15, 2026
Purdue University and the Indiana sheep industry are launching a new statewide effort aimed at helping producers improve flock health while building stronger connections among sheep farmers across Indiana.
The program, called the Indiana Flock Exchange, is being organized by Purdue Agriculture's Indiana Sheep and Wool Market Development Program and the Indiana Sheep Association. The initiative will debut this summer with a series of workshops in three regions of the state, focusing on flock health and parasite management.
Organizers say the program is designed to serve Indiana's diverse sheep industry, which includes producers raising animals for meat, wool, dairy production and show livestock.
"Indiana's small ruminant industry is vibrant, made up of producers that have been working with sheep for generations and those just starting out," said Cora Reinbolt, Purdue Extension small ruminant specialist. "Producers are interested in all sectors of the industry, from meat to fiber, show lambs to sheep dairies and beyond."
The first workshop is scheduled for July 26 at Purdue University's Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences in West Lafayette. Additional sessions featuring the same program will be held Sept. 13 at the Southern Indiana Purdue Agriculture Center in Dubois and Nov. 22 at the Pinney Purdue Agriculture Center in Wanatah.