US suspends Mexican live cattle exports over screwworm pest

MEXICO CITY — The United States will suspend Mexican exports of live cattle for 15 days to review the joint strategy in the fight against the screwworm, Mexico’s Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said on social media Sunday.

Berdegué said on social platform X that he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, Brooke Rollins, who had informed him of the decision.

“We don’t agree with this measure, but we’re confident we’ll reach an agreement sooner rather than later,” Berdegué said.

The U.S. restricted Mexican cattle shipments in late November following the detection of the pest, but lifted the ban in February after protocols were put in place to evaluate the animals prior to entry into the country.

But there has been an “unacceptable northward advancement” of the screwworm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement Sunday.

“Additional action must be taken to slow the northern progression of this deadly parasitic fly,” the statement added.

The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans. The parasite enters animals' skin, causing severe damage and lesions that can be fatal.

Mexico’s Health Ministry issued an epidemiological alert this month after the first human case of screwworm myiasis was confirmed on April 17 in a 77-year-old woman living in the southern state of Chiapas.

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