The United States has temporarily suspended all cattle imports from Mexico after the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) detected a teeny, tiny parasite that could have major consequences on meat production.
According to an announcement, on November 22, the Chief Veterinary Officer of Mexico notified APHIS that it had a positive detection of New World screwworm (NWS) in Mexico, found in a cow in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.
“Given the northward movement of NWS, APHIS has in recent months stepped up its efforts in Central America to partner with impacted countries to push this pest out of newly affected areas,” Dr. Rosemary Sifford, the Chief Veterinary Officer of the United States, shared in the announcement. “With this latest find in Mexico, we will further intensify this work to protect American agriculture and reestablish the barrier in Central America.”
Here’s what you need to know about the parasitic fly and how it could impact you.
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Cochliomyia hominivorax, otherwise known as the New World screwworm fly, lays eggs in and on open wounds. The larvae then eventually “eat” the flesh of the host animal.What is a New World screwworm?
As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted, the screwworm is a fly that “infests the tissue or flesh of warm-blooded animals; on rare occasions, this includes people.” It noted that the screwworm, which is endemic to the Caribbean and South America, is attracted to and lays eggs on and in open wounds. But it also noted that “NWS does not regularly occur or spread in the United States … People who travel to these areas, spend time among livestock animals, sleep outdoors, and have an open wound are at greater risk of becoming infested with NWS.”
Related: Worms Are ‘Pretty Common’ in These Types of Fish — Here’s What to Do
The APHIS additionally noted that since 2006, it has worked with Panama to maintain a barrier zone to prevent its northward spread. However, over the last two years, the screwworm has moved north into Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico. This is likely due to several factors, “including new areas of farming in previous barrier regions for fly control and increased cattle movements into the region.”
How does it affect cattle?
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, cases of screwworm leaped in Panama to more than 6,500 cases in 2023 from a usual average of just 25 cases per year. These pests, APHIS added, can fly “much farther under ideal conditions, adult flies generally do not travel more than a couple of miles if there are suitable host animals in the area.”
However, some experts like Alejandro Zaldívar, a doctoral candidate at the Laboratory of Ecology of Diseases and One Health at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, believe the spread could also be due to illegal cattle routes. “Illegal trade in Central America has been around for a long time. In our analysis we are observing that it is accelerating the spread of the fly,” he shared with Wired.
APHIS added that screwworm infestations can be difficult to detect in early stages, but the Center for Food Security and Public Health noted that when the infestation is found, it can be treated. “Euthanasia of the animal is not usually required,” it noted. “Although some wounds may be surgically excised, most are treated with a suitable larvicide and allowed to heal without closure. Treatment is usually repeated at intervals until the wound has healed. Removal of necrotic tissue may be necessary, and antibiotics may be given when secondary bacterial contamination is present.”
Again, it’s not very common in humans, but if you’ve happened to have traveled to an area where it’s present and have any suspicious lesions, you should immediately get them checked out.
What does this mean for meat imports?
The APHIS noted it’s “restricting the importation of animal commodities originating from or transiting Mexico effective immediately and pending further information from Mexican veterinary authorities on the size and scope of the infestation.” This will mean a large dip in cattle brought into the United States. As Southern Ag Today reported, imports of cattle from Mexico increased to nearly 1.25 million head in 2024.
As Daniel Manzanares, the director of the Santa Teresa International Export/Import Livestock Crossin, shared with Beef Magazine, “This could get ugly real fast and could hurt a lot of people on both sides of the border. Even if the border opens soon, the measures will be costly and it will impact cattle operations in the U.S. and Mexico for some time to come.”
Will this affect beef prices?
While it’s too early to tell exactly how this will affect beef prices, experts are already saying higher prices are likely.
“It happened overnight, and in an environment where we already have tight supplies, we’re going to end up in a spot where we’re going to have tighter supplies,” Charley Martinez from the University of Tennessee shared with Brownfield Ag News. “You have feed lot operators that are needing cattle now, and they no longer have a supplier, and they’re going to have to go out to the sale barns and go look for cattle … Well, that’s actually going to cause a short-run demand increase, and as demand increases, prices increase.”
And while he noted that this will first affect people higher in the beef supply chain, “Eventually, it’s going to get to the consumer.”
What’s next?
The APHIS says it’s planning to release sterile flies at strategic locations throughout Central America, which it also did in Florida in 2016 during an outbreak that killed 130 Key deer. The APHIS added it “will continue working with partners in Mexico and Central America to eradicate NWS from the affected areas and to re-establish the biological barrier in Panama.”
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