By Julie Tomascik
Editor

A New World screwworm detection was confirmed in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, about 120 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

SENASICA, the Mexican government agency responsible for agriculture, notified the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS) of the detection. APHIS confirmed the case in a 22-month-old bovine transported from Veracruz to a feedlot in Nuevo León.

This detection marks the northernmost active case currently found in Mexico.

It is the second detection at the same Nuevo León feedlot since October. The recurrence shows how easily the parasite can move with transported livestock.

The department recently launched a New World screwworm website that centralizes information available across the federal government. It includes a map with recent detection and notes whether the cases are active or inactive.

USDA continues to execute its five-pronged plan to push the pest south and protect U.S. livestock and wildlife. That plan includes aerial releases of sterile flies across in Nuevo León and other parts of northeastern Mexico.

USDA is also building a sterile fly dispersal facility in the Rio Grande Valley and increasing the number of tick riders who patrol the border on horseback.

The federal agency committed $750 million to a new sterile insect production facility in the Valley and $100 million to new technologies, such as advanced traps, lures and sterilization methods. USDA plans to expand surveillance and training for ranchers, veterinarians and border personnel.

Livestock imports from Mexico remain suspended while USDA continues surveillance efforts on both sides of the border.

New World screwworm, a flesh-eating parasite that attacks warm-blooded animals, poses a significant threat to U.S. livestock and wildlife. If left untreated, infestations can be fatal, making early detection and rapid response crucial to maintaining animal health.

For more information from USDA, visit screwworm.gov.

Additional information is available at screwwormtx.org.