Latest news with #screwworm
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Mexico cattle industry prepares and cattle imports paused as screwworm travels north
Jun. 1—A small, pale maggot about a half-inch long could cost New Mexico cattle ranchers greatly if it gets back into the country. One of the state's senators introduced new legislation to combat the New World screwworm fly, which has recently spread across Central America toward the U.S. At the U.S.-Mexico crossing in Santa Teresa, the pens supporting the nation's largest livestock entry point sat empty and eerily quiet Friday, with workers performing maintenance projects and catching up on paperwork at facilities normally bustling with thousands of cattle passing through daily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture closed the border to livestock imports after the screwworm was detected in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas in November. Imports resumed in February once the two countries established protocols for inspection and treatment. However, when screwworm was detected in Oaxaca and Veracruz, just 700 miles from the U.S., the USDA closed the border to imports once again on May 11. Unlike typical maggots, which feed on the dead, screwworm larvae feast on the living, meaning the fly larvae can do significant damage to cattle, even causing death. While New World screwworms overwhelmingly affect cattle, any warm-blooded animal can be susceptible to infestation, including livestock, pets, wild animals and people. The U.S. eradicated the parasites in 1966 and has worked with the Panama government to keep screwworms there in check, maintaining a buffer zone of several countries between U.S. ranches and the insects. But the New World screwworm population in Panama exploded in 2023, and last year's infestation in Chiapas prompted the U.S. to release $165 million in emergency funding to protect livestock, pets and wildlife. Some experts see a new U.S. infestation as inevitable. "It's not an 'if we're going to see it;' it's a 'when we're going to see it,'" said Bronson Corn, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association. "And unfortunately, I think we're going to see it sooner, much rather than later. Probably within the next three months, I would say, we're probably going to have it here in the United States." New Mexico has more than 10,000 cattle farms and ranches. The U.S. livestock industry benefits by more than $900 million a year because there aren't screwworms in the country, USDA estimates. Dr. Samantha Holeck, state veterinarian with the New Mexico Livestock Board, is preparing for the worst and hoping for the best by working to educate livestock producers on the New World screwworm and developing protocols for sample collection to make sure flies can be rapidly identified. "The challenge is, we've got very warm weather. The flies are able to move on their own, as well as with animal movement and things like wildlife that are going to move independently. We don't have control over how wildlife move. There are risk factors that still make it an imminent threat to the United States, even with a lot of good preventive strategies and surveillance in place," Holeck said. In the 1960s, New Mexico's livestock industry was heavily affected by the screwworm, she said. "A lot of our common management practices, even ear tagging potentially, can put an animal at risk, because any sort of fresh wound as small as a tick bite for example, can attract those female flies to lay eggs," Holeck said. "So once they have an opportunity to lay eggs in, those larvae begin to burrow in, because the larvae feed on live, healthy flesh." Left untreated, screwworms can cause traumatic injuries, are able to enlarge a wound and capable of even eating through bone. An untreated screwworm infestation could kill an animal within one to two weeks. Treatment with a dewormer like ivermectin can clear an infestation in a cow within two to three days. Livestock producers can usually identify an infestation by observing a rapidly expanding wound, signs of distress or pain in their animal, or by the foul smell of the wound. If screwworms are identified in New Mexico, the infested livestock will be thoroughly inspected and treated, Holeck said. They also won't be transported until free of screwworm larvae. Fly sterilization Female screwworms only mate once, so the strategy for managing the screwworm population has long been to produce sterile male screwworms and then release them into the wild. But, when the screwworm population was eradicated in the U.S., the country was producing sterile flies to release across a broad area. At present, the only sterilization facility is in Panama and is capable of producing hundreds of millions of sterile flies in a week. "If that facility were to go down, we'd be in a real big wreck," Holeck said. On Tuesday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA is investing $21 million to renovate an existing fruit fly production facility in Mexico to produce 60 to 100 million additional sterile New World screwworm flies weekly. Sens. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced a bill to authorize money for a new sterile fly production facility in the U.S. to combat the growing screwworm outbreak. The STOP Screwworms Act is cosponsored by Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss. With bipartisan support, Luján is hopeful the bill will move quickly through Congress because of the urgent situation. "The last time that there was an outbreak, it devastated the cattle industry, beef prices and availability in the United States," Luján said. "This little thing is quite devastating." At the border, empty cattle pens The orange theater-style seating at the Santa Teresa Livestock Auction was empty Friday. Hay and feed were neatly piled and only a few head of cattle were penned together. General Manager Hector Alberto "Teto" Medina estimated that the pause on imports will affect producers in Mexico, who exported over $1 billion in livestock to the U.S. in 2024, but would have ripple effects throughout the U.S. food system and related business sectors — down to what consumers pay for groceries or dining out. "This is the hardest we've ever been hit on the U.S.-Mexico border," he said. "We're talking about employment for farmers that feed these cattle, ranchers, transportation companies, brokerage companies, federal workers, feedlots, processors, for plants that process the cattle into meat — all the way down to restaurants and all the way down to our plates." So far, he said he had no plans to lay off any of his staff, and was upbeat about a solution. "What's being done at the USDA is the correct thing to do," he said. "They are ensuring that our food supply is safe and clean. ... I wish it didn't have to affect us as much, but that's the way life is sometimes."
Reuters
28-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US likely to resume Mexican cattle imports by year end, USDA chief veterinarian says
PARIS, May 28 (Reuters) - The United States will likely resume Mexican cattle imports by year-end, after a halt due to the spread in Mexico of the New World screwworm pest that can devastate livestock, the U.S. agriculture department's chief veterinarian said on Wednesday. Screwworm can infest livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, people. Maggots from screwworm flies burrow into the skin of animals, causing serious and often fatal damage. The USDA indefinitely suspended cattle imports from Mexico this month, citing the pest's northward movement. "We want to make sure that we're comfortable that the way that they're doing surveillance gives us a good picture of what our risk level is for the fly continuing to move north," USDA's chief veterinary officer, Rosemary Sifford, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health's annual assembly in Paris. "It's hard to say exactly when, but (imports will resume) for sure before the end of the year, unless something really dramatically changes," Sifford said. No new cases of screwworm have been found farther north than one detected two weeks ago about 700 miles from the U.S.-Mexican border, Sifford said. A USDA mission will travel to Mexico in the coming days, Mexico's agriculture ministry said on Tuesday. Sifford also gave the end of the year as a "very last" deadline for controlling the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in dairy cows. The virus has led to the deaths of over 173 million chickens, turkeys and other birds in the United States since 2022 and infected more than 1,000 dairy herds since 2024, USDA data show. Seventy people in the U.S. have also tested positive, mostly farm workers, since 2024, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The only new (dairy) cases that we are seeing at this point are in states where we already have herds affected and are very much associated with biosecurity problems," Sifford said. "I'm not sure if (a full halt) will happen by the summer, but we're definitely on a steady path." For poultry flocks, the summer should be "quiet" for infections, with the number of outbreaks falling in recent weeks, Sifford said. Wild birds can transmit the virus to poultry flocks, which are then culled to contain outbreaks. "We are not seeing introductions from wild birds, so we are expecting a quiet summer," Sifford said.
Associated Press
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Impact Fusion's Scientific Team Proposes Solution to the New World Screwworm Fly Impending Crisis
Napoleonville, Louisiana--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2025) - Impact Fusion (OTC Pink: IFUS) As widely reported in the media and noted by concerned lawmakers, the USA is facing a serious infestation of the New World Screwworm Fly. This infestation could wreak havoc on the American beef cattle and dairy industries, as well as impact other mammals. To that end, Agriculture Secretary Betty Rollins has declared an emergency. She has closed the border to beef exports from Mexico. Six of the nation's lawmakers, including Senators Lujan (D-NM), Cronyn (R-TX), Heinrich (D-NM), Cruz (R-TX), Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Gonzales (R-TX) have joined together in a bi-partisan effort to address this problem. The company is reaching out to each of the lawmakers sponsoring this legislation in an attempt to alert them to an all-natural product that is environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and produced IN AMERICA. It is contacting them by email and phone. As previously reported, the Schmidt's of Deer Run Ranch in Jefferson, TX (one of IFUS's rancher-owned test ranches) met with Senator Cruz last month to discuss the Farm Bill. Robert Schmidt was quoted by a member of the U.S. Congress after stating, 'No cattle. No food.' Impact Fusion is endeavoring to inform the lawmakers at the highest level that the solution is already in hand, invented and produced in the USA and ready to be delivered. 'I recently watched two very topical videos produced by Rebecca and Josh Tickell entitled 'Common Ground and Kiss the Ground',' said Marc Walther CEO. 'These videos can be found on Amazon Prime Video. What I learned was that with Global Climate Change, an ever-present condition, temperature extremes are demonstrating an annual average rise in temperature. Furthermore, wind and ocean currents are shifting in a manner that indicates the problem is not going to go away any time soon, nor will it be solved by conventional techniques.' Our IFUS Scientific team is reaching out to the worldwide scientific community comprised of scientists in various fields of expertise. These efforts have uncovered substantial evidence that the ingredients from which SGP+™ is formulated can have a dramatic effect on preventing the screwworm fly from (1) being attracted to beef and dairy cattle, (2) wanting to bite the cow, (3) discouraging the fly to lay her eggs into the cow, and (4) preventing the larvae from becoming a mature fly. This information is being shared with ScrewWorm Fly researchers at Texas A&M by the company's ranchers at Deer Run Ranch. The Schmidts' have been participating in a Manure Study sponsored by the U.S.D.A. The results of analyzing and evaluating manure pats from the Deer Run Ranch herd has led to broader and greater curiosity by the Texas A&M Team who are exploring the positive impact of SGP+™ on the New World ScrewWorm Fly crisis. 'Backed by ever-emerging and substantive scientific evidence, it is my considered opinion, that IFUS is in the right place at the right time and that we are able to meet this challenge head on,' stated Marc Walther. 'Furthermore, we are providing integrated and multi-faceted solutions to the beef and dairy industries that have a direct impact on overall Herd Performance in an environmentally-friendly manner through a game-changing cost-effective solution.' The company will continue to update its shareholders as appropriate. Back to Work! For our customers of both Intact Digest and Intact Endurance, you may now send your testimonials to: [email protected]. We can also be reached at 1-800-775-4130 seven days a week. About Impact Fusion International Inc. Impact Fusion International, Inc. is in the business of marketing products in the 'Health and Wellness' sector of all international markets. It is the company's mission to invent, develop and market these proprietary products worldwide for the health and well-being of humans and animals. The information contained in this release includes some statement that are not purely historical and that are 'forward-looking statements.' Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our and their management's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including our financial condition, results of operations. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words 'anticipates,' 'believes,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimates,' 'expects,' 'intends,' 'may,' 'might,' 'plans,' 'possible,' 'potential,' 'predicts,' 'projects,' 'seeks,' 'should,' 'would' and similar expressions, or the negatives of such terms, may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and the potential effects on the parties and the corporate and administrative transactions. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements and represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Contact: Impact Fusion International Inc. 204 Highway 1011 Napoleonville LA 70390 1-800-775-4130 Email: [email protected] Updates can be found at the official Impact Fusion Twitter account @impactfusionI #Screwworm Fly #India #Sumul #Intact Digest #Intact Endurance #Germany #legislation #bagasse #drought #Holy Grail #SUAREC #Louisiana #green house gases #methane gas #cattle #dairy #floods #wildfires #scientific studies #American Sugar League #AgriGlow Biotech #Waygu Beef #hay replacement #Sumul,India trials #Black Farmers National Association #Supreme AG™ #SGP+™ #Oklahoma #test ranch #testimonials To view the source version of this press release, please visit
CTV News
15-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
The U.S. suspended Mexican beef imports. Could the screwworm spread in Canada?
Jacob Shelley, health sciences professor at Western University in Paris, Ont., says Canada should be concerned about the possible spread of screwworm to Canada. After the United States suspended imports of Mexican live beef cattle on Sunday, one Canadian public health expert says Canada should be concerned about the flesh-eating screwworm and the potential for infections that could have 'far-reaching implications.' 'I think anytime we have a pest that's spreading between animals, and can threaten an entire kind of system with risk, we ought to be concerned,' Jacob Shelley, associate professor at the School of Health Studies at Western University, said Wednesday during a video interview with from Paris, Ont. The U.S. government first detected the pest in Mexican cattle shipments and limited the imports in late November, but it lifted the ban in February when it created protocols to assess incoming animals, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. then announced it paused the shipments again Sunday, prompting Mexico to say Tuesday it will strictly limit cattle shipments from Central America. The parasite is commonly found in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and South American countries, but has spread north to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Mexico. In Canada, the parasite infected a Canadian traveller who returned from Costa Rica in recent months. Costa Rica declared a screwworm national emergency in February. asked the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday if the federal government is taking action in response to screwworm concerns. The CFIA said it could not provide a response immediately. Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases specialist at Toronto General Hospital, said the screwworm case of the Canadian traveller shows how 'better control efforts' are needed. He said screwworm is a fly infestation rather than an infectious disease, bacteria, virus or fungal infection so there's no vaccine. It's dangerous because the fly can lay eggs in a wound or scrape in a human or animal that can then turn into larvae, he added. 'The reason why this is so dangerous is because the larvae eat live tissue, not dead tissue, so they can cause significant harm to any animal ... that they're infesting,' Bogoch said in a video interview with on Wednesday. Bogoch said a 'sterile insect technique' had previously prevented the infection from spreading by breeding and sterilizing millions of flies over Panama. 'That was pretty successful in keeping flies that can cause this very, very damaging infestation from coming north into the northern part of Central America, into Mexico, and of course into the United States and beyond,' Bogoch said. 'Unfortunately, over the last year, that barrier has been breached and there's been an outbreak of New World screwworm flies.' Now the U.S. is releasing the sterile flies in southern Mexico to help prevent the infected flies from moving north, Bogoch said. 'From a Canadian standpoint, I think it's just important to have surveillance and ensure that we don't see these flies introduced into Canada, but really the border is going to be south and the control efforts are really going to be south, focused on the southern part of Mexico and of course Central America, where most of the control efforts are in place,' he said. Preventing screwworm from entering Canada could be difficult because flies are prolific breeders and Canada's current agricultural practices allow humans and animals to frequently come into contact in large slaughterhouses and farms, Shelley said. 'The preventative kind of measures may not be in place in Canada to address this without simply restricting the import of cattle at this point,' Shelley said. 'The screwworm did cause considerable havoc in the U.S. in the past ... both to the farmers and the industry associated with cattle, but also for consumers who would face an increased cost for beef.' U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on the X social platform that it took the livestock industry 30 years to recover after the 'devastating pest' invaded the United States. While the infrastructure is in place in Canada to monitor for pests, Shelley says the 'system is really ill-equipped' to prevent the spread, with the U.S. reducing inspections to monitor and identify animals at risk. 'It's more that once this is introduced into our environment, these types of pests can be very damaging,' he said, noting the same problem occurred with the pine beetle in Canada. What could happen if screwworm spreads to Canada? If the screwworm spreads to Canada, Shelley says cattle could be culled, which may lead to an increase in beef prices. 'If this were to spread, it could be more catastrophic than simply a few cattle or a few humans becoming infected,' Shelley said. '(It) could affect the entire industry in Canada, so caution is warranted here.' The U.S. pause in Mexican cattle imports already risks raising U.S. beef prices amid limited supply, Reuters reported. The screwworm can seriously damage the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans, and even cause death. With files from The Associated Press
CTV News
14-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
The U.S. suspended Mexican beef imports. Could the screwworm spread in Canada?
Jacob Shelley, health sciences professor at Western University in Paris, Ont., says Canada should be concerned about the possible spread of screwworm to Canada. After the United States suspended imports of Mexican live beef cattle on Sunday, one Canadian public health expert says Canada should be concerned about the flesh-eating screwworm and the potential for infections that could have 'far-reaching implications.' 'I think anytime we have a pest that's spreading between animals, and can threaten an entire kind of system with risk, we ought to be concerned,' Jacob Shelley, associate professor at the School of Health Studies at Western University, said Wednesday during a video interview with from Paris, Ont. The U.S. government first detected the pest in Mexican cattle shipments and limited the imports in late November, but the ban was lifted in February when it created protocols to assess incoming animals, The Associated Press reported. The U.S. then announced it paused the shipments again Sunday, prompting Mexico to say Tuesday it will strictly limit cattle shipments from Central America. The parasite is commonly found in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and South American countries, but has spread north to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Mexico. In Canada, the parasite infected a Canadian traveller who returned from Costa Rica in recent months. Costa Rica declared a screwworm national emergency in February. Preventing screwworm from entering Canada could be difficult because flies are prolific breeders and Canada's current agricultural practices allow humans and animals to frequently come into contact in large slaughterhouses and farms, Shelley said. 'The preventative kind of measures may not be in place in Canada to address this without simply restricting the import of cattle at this point,' Shelley said. 'The screwworm did cause considerable havoc in the U.S. in the past ... both to the farmers and the industry associated with cattle, but also for consumers who would face an increased cost for beef.' U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on the X social platform that it took the livestock industry 30 years to recover after the 'devastating pest' invaded the United States. While the infrastructure is in place in Canada to monitor for pests, Shelley says the 'system is really ill-equipped' to prevent the spread, with the U.S. reducing inspections to monitor and identify animals at risk. 'It's more that once this is introduced into our environment, these types of pests can be very damaging,' he said, noting the problem occurred with the pine beetle in Canada. What could happen if pest spreads to Canada? If the screwworm spreads to Canada, Shelley says cattle could be culled, which could lead to the increase of beef prices. 'If this were to spread, it could be more catastrophic than simply a few cattle or a few humans becoming infected,' Shelley said. '(It) could affect the entire industry in Canada, so caution is warranted here.' The U.S. pause in Mexican cattle imports already risks raising U.S. beef prices amid limited supply, Reuters reported. The screwworm can seriously damage the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans, and even cause death. With files from The Associated Press
