New cases of the
New World Screwworms
in Veracruz, Mexico have caused the U.S. Department of Agriculture to once again close southern borders to livestock
days after reopening them
.
On Tuesday, July 8, the National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality in Mexico reported a new case of the screwworm approximately 160 miles north of the current sterile fly dispersal grid on the eastern side of Mexico and 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border.
In response on Thursday, July 10, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins ordered the closure of livestock through southern ports effective immediately.
“The United States has promised to be vigilant — and after detecting this new NWS case, we are pausing the planned port reopenings to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico,” Rollins said in a statement. “We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the southern border. Thanks to the aggressive monitoring by USDA staff in the U.S. and in Mexico, we have taken decisive action.”
Mexico responds to port closures
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum characterized the move by the United States as an overreaction to a single case in Veracruz.
“From our point of view, it is a totally exaggerated decision to close the border again,” Sheinbaum said in her morning news conference on Thursday, July 10,
Reuters reported
.
The
National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality in Mexico
confirmed Mexico has recorded at least 26 confirmed human cases of the parasitic screwworm.
In animals, more than 800 cases of screwworm have been detected in southern and southeastern Mexico since November 2024. The first case in Chiapas was reported in mid-April.
USDA plans to fight screwworm cases
The USDA
announced the phased reopening of southern ports
for livestock trade starting as early as Monday, July 7.
On June 18, Rollins outlined
a comprehensive plan by the federal department
to combat the spread of the species in livestock.
“New World screwworm is a devastating pest. When NWS fly larvae (maggots) burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal,” the memorandum stated. “NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and in rare cases, people. This is a serious concern to the U.S. economy and the U.S. food supply.”
The USDA confirmed it is working on eradication efforts particularly with border states such as Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
The screwworm is prevalent in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and countries in South America, with cases spreading north to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and El Salvador.
Although the USDA eradicated the insect from the United States in 1966 using sterile insect technique, there is a constant risk of re-introduction into the United States, the USDA confirmed.
Kristian Jaime is the Top Story Reporter for the El Paso Times and is reachable at Kjaime@.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times:
New Veracruz screwworm case cause border closures for livestock imports
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