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US Halts Southern Livestock Trade After New Screwworm Case

The move follows a July 8 detection in Veracruz; USDA has begun accelerating plans to bolster sterile insect production and surveillance.

A worker drops New World screwworm fly larvae into a tray at a facility that breeds sterile flies in Pacora, Panama.
A photo from 1960 shows US workers preparing sterile flies for dispersal.
Animal health worker Eduardo Lugo treats the wounds of a cow at the Chihuahua Regional Livestock Union in Nuevo Palomas, Mexico.
The adult fly form of the New World screwworm has a blue-green metallic exoskeleton.

Overview

  • USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins ordered an immediate closure of livestock imports at southern border ports after a new New World screwworm detection in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz.
  • The decision reverses a phased port reopening that began on July 7 and pauses imports following prior outbreaks in Oaxaca and earlier surveillance efforts.
  • USDA is advancing the design of a domestic sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Texas and collaborating with Mexico’s SENASICA to retrofit a plant for higher output.
  • The Panama–U.S. Commission facility now produces about 100 million sterile flies weekly, but USDA estimates up to 500 million are needed each week to rebuild the pest barrier.
  • With no vaccines or repellents available, authorities depend on binational surveillance, strict animal movement controls and regular livestock inspections to prevent costly infestations.