Mexico weighs next steps as screwworm nears US border
No change yet in US cattle import ban, says Sheinbaum
By: Mexico is evaluating additional actions to deal with an outbreak of the flesh-eating screwworm parasite after a case of an infected animal was confirmed in the state of Nuevo Leon, which borders the United States, Reuters reported, citing President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday.
The has been no change in the expectation that the US will reopen the border for livestock trade with Mexico before November, Sheinbaum said during her regular press conference.
"There has been no notification from the US Department of Agriculture indicating any change in this situation," Sheinbaum said in response to a journalist's question about whether the new case, confirmed Sept. 21, would impact the expected timeline of the border reopening.
The infected animal was in a shipment of 100 animals originating from the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, Mexico said this week.
A team from the US Department of Agriculture recently visited Mexico to review the country's response to the screwworm parasite, which has moved northward through Central America and Mexico, prompting the US government to keep its border mostly closed to Mexican cattle imports since May.
Mexico was waiting for a decision by the US based on that team's report, Sheinbaum said.
A plant that will produce sterile flies, which reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies, is set to begin operations "very soon," Sheinbaum added.
23 September 2025
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