The U.S. agriculture secretary is downplaying the threat posed by the spreading screwworm now compared with her more dire remarks last year.

The U.S. will lean on the same playbook it did starting in the late 1950s, part of which involves releasing sterile insects to suppress the pest's population.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the United States' food supply is not at risk after confirming two more cases of the New World screwworm.