Mexico combats screwworm outbreak to stabilize livestock exports

Efforts to contain the screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) plague in Mexico are showing progress, with active cases trending downward in Chihuahua. The Mexican government has implemented a sanitary barrier by releasing millions of sterile flies to interrupt the insect's reproductive cycle. In Chihuahua, active cases have dropped from a peak of 148 in early August to 57.

In Sonora, the outbreak is more recent, with reports indicating between 9 and 15 active cases, primarily located in Álamos and Yécora. Despite these cases, livestock exports to the United States have resumed through the Agua Prieta quarantine station, averaging approximately 700 head per day.

The stabilization of the outbreak may facilitate the reopening of additional export ports. Authorities from the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture and the USDA are considering opening three more ports: one in Nogales, Sonora, and two between Chihuahua and New Mexico in Santa Teresa and Columbus. USDA technicians are expected to visit licensed exporting states, including Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Durango, and Nuevo León, in mid-September to conduct inspections.