The US Department of Agriculture reportedly warned Mexico it will cease all live animal imports unless the country enforces stronger measures to stop a flesh-eating parasite from spreading northward.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a scathing letter to her Mexican counterpart Saturday threatening to block the importation of live cattle, bison and horses if the government fails to combat the spread of New World screwworm by April 30, Fox News reported.
“We are now at a critical inflection point in our shared campaign against this pest, and I am very concerned about our collaboration,” the letter, obtained by Fox, said.
“The outbreak in southern Mexico continues to expand, and every day that passes without full deployment of sterile insect technique (SIT) operations represents a lost opportunity to contain this pest and prevent its spread beyond the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.”
The screwworm primarily targets the periphery of fresh wounds in warm-blooded animals — as well as birds, deer and humans — where it deposits hundreds of eggs that hatch into flesh-eating maggots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Upon hatching, the larvae can infest the bloodstream, causing an extremely painful condition called myiasis, and consume their host from the inside out.
Rollins signaled that Mexican customs officials have imposed costly import duties on critical supplies, including sterile flies, aviation parts and dispersal equipment, with aviation authorities also limiting crucial operations necessary to prevent the lurking pest from advancing across the border.
“We do not understand how our official efforts to stop a common pest can be subject to such burdensome customs duties,” she pressed in her letter to Mexico’s Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué Sacristán.
“These delays and costs not only disrupt operations but risk delaying aircraft deployment at the precise moment when rapid actions is needed most.”
She urged Mexico’s government to provide immediate operational aviation clearance, full duty waivers on all emergency equipment and an install a high-level liaison expedite solutions.
Rollins cautioned that “time is of the essence.”
“Every delay in granting full operational authority and elimination custom barriers undermines our collective ability to carry out this emergency response. We cannot afford to continue operating at partial strength,” Rollins said.
“I must inform you that if these issues are not resolved by Wednesday, April 30, USDA will restrict the importation of animal commodities, which consist of live cattle, bison, and equine originating from or transporting to Mexico to protect the interest of the agriculture industry in the United States.”
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