The United States-Mexico border was closed for the importation of Mexican cattle into the U.S. in late November, after a case of New World Screwworm was detected in Mexico. Import restrictions on live cattle imported into the U.S. were put in place out of an “abundance of caution” according to USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Jenny Moffitt.
Moffitt says that since the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service put the import restrictions in place, U.S. and Mexican government and livestock officials have been sharing investigation and technical data in the hopes of reopening the border to imports.
On Friday USDA announced additional resources being allocated to keep screwworm out of the United States.
She says the funding dovetails with an earlier investment in preventing the spread of NWS, which has been taking place in Central America over the past two years.
The fly larvae can infest warm blooded animals such as cattle and can lead to infection. A biological barrier can be created by mating sterile male flies with females in areas where NWS is detected. This initiative can decrease or even eliminate populations of screwworm flies says Moffitt.
