{"id":5616,"date":"2025-07-10T12:50:56","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T07:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vetnewsandviews.com\/en\/?p=5616"},"modified":"2025-07-10T13:01:55","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T08:01:55","slug":"u-s-shuts-down-livestock-trade-at-southern-border","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vetnewsandviews.com\/en\/u-s-shuts-down-livestock-trade-at-southern-border\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Shuts Down Livestock Trade at Southern Border"},"content":{"rendered":"

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U.S. Shuts Down Livestock Trade at Southern Border Over Screwworm Threat<\/p>\n

New World Screwworm edges closer to U.S.; emergency action taken to protect livestock<\/p>\n

Washington, D.C. \u2013 In a swift and decisive move, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has closed all livestock ports of entry along the southern border with Mexico after a new case of New World Screwworm (NWS) was confirmed in Veracruz \u2014 significantly north of previously reported detections.<\/p>\n

According to USDA Press Release No. 0160.25, the newly detected case in Ixhuatl\u00e1n de Madero, Veracruz\u2014located just 370 miles from the U.S. border and 160 miles north of the sterile fly dispersal grid\u2014raises serious concerns about the pest\u2019s northward movement. In response, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins ordered an immediate halt to livestock trade, reversing earlier plans to reopen ports between July and September.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tWhat is the New World Screwworm?
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The New World Screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) is a dangerous parasite. The female fly lays eggs in wounds of warm-blooded animals. When the larvae hatch, they begin consuming live flesh, causing deep, infected wounds that can lead to death if untreated.<\/p>\n

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Though eliminated in the U.S. in the 1980s, the screwworm remains endemic in parts of Latin America. A reintroduction would pose a multi-billion-dollar threat to American livestock production and food security.<\/p>\n

This latest detection in Veracruz undermines the phased reopening strategy USDA had announced just days earlier. Originally, livestock ports were closed in May 2025 after cases were detected in Oaxaca and southern Veracruz. However, a risk-based reopening was scheduled to begin on July 7. That plan has now been suspended indefinitely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States has promised to be vigilant \u2014 and after detecting this new NWS case, we are pausing the planned port reopenings,\u201d said Secretary Rollins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must see additional progress in combatting NWS in Veracruz and surrounding states before reopening any livestock ports along the border.\u201d<\/p>\n

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USDA\u2019s Bold Response Plan as outlined in the USDA press release, the agency has launched a multi-pronged containment strategy, including:<\/p>\n