US re-imposes ban on Mexican cattle due to screwworm infestation
"We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border," said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
File image of Mexican stockyards.
Three days the border was open to Mexican cattle, horses and bison Washington closed it again Wednesday night after new tests came back positive for New World Screwworm (NWS) in Mexico.
The border remained open to Mexican cattle, horses, and bison for just three days. Washington closed it again on Wednesday night after new tests in Mexico came back positive for screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax).
"The United States has promised to be vigilant—and after detecting this new NWS case, we are pausing the planned port reopening’s to further quarantine and target this deadly pest in Mexico," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a communique. His department detailed that the last detection of the pest had occurred in Ixhuatlán de Madero, Veracruz, 370 miles (600 kilometers) from the border.
Donald Trump's administration announced on May 11 the suspension of imports due to an outbreak in Mexico of the parasitic fly larva that feeds on live mammalian flesh. Exports had been gradually resumed last Monday.
"We must see additional progress combatting NWS in Veracruz and other nearby Mexican states in order to reopen livestock ports along the Southern border," Rollins said Wednesday in announcing the closure.
Warning for Americans in Nicaragua
The U.S. embassy stationed there issued an alert over the growth of the plague, noting that local authorities recorded a total of 124 human infections in the past year.
They therefore recommended visiting official websites for information, as well as those of health and travel insurance providers. In addition, they specified when to seek medical assistance: "If you observe unusual wounds or lesions that worsen or contain worms" or "if you experience severe pain, redness, swelling or infection of any wound.
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