MEXICO CITY (CN) - In her Monday press conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government will cooperate with calls from the U.S. to contain the rise of the New World screwworm but called some of the demands excessive.
Sheinbaum's response came following a letter U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins sent to her Mexican counterpart, Julio Berdegue, over the weekend. In it, she asked Berdegue to eliminate restrictions on U.S. Department of Agriculture aircraft that employ a pest control method called the sterile insect technique. This technique utilizes huge amounts of sterilized male flies that are released into the environment to mate with females to produce infertile eggs, leading to a decrease in the population of the parasitic worms.
The flights currently fly under a temporary 60-day permit and six days a week, which Rollins said is insufficient.
Screwworms are fly larvae that can destroy livestock populations, costing farmers millions. The maggots burrow into the wounds of infested livestock, feeding as they go like a screw into wood. The flesh-eating parasite can also cause significant harm to humans or death.
There are no vaccines to control screwworms. Typically, cattle are dipped or sprayed with organophosphorus insecticides that enter infested areas of the animal to kill larvae.
If the issues are not resolved by Wednesday, Rollins says the USDA will restrict cattle, equine and bison imports originating from or traveling through Mexico.
"We will collaborate, we will cooperate, but we will not subordinate ourselves. That is very clear in all our external relations," Sheinbaum said.
Sheinbaum also stated that Berdegue has been and is continuing to work on a plan to control the outbreak.
Rollins also stated in the letter her displeasure with high custom import duties levied on critical aviation parts, dispersal equipment and sterile fly shipments.
"We do not understand how our official efforts to stop a common pest can be subject to such burdensome customs duties. These delays and costs not only disrupt operations but risk delaying aircraft deployment at the precise moment when rapid action is needed most," the letter states.
In a statement, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association expressed its support for Rollins' request for action from Mexico.
"The U.S. spent millions of dollars to eradicate New World screwworm from our borders in the 1960s, but unfortunately, we are now facing this dangerous threat again," said Buck Wehrbein, the association president and a Nebraska cattleman. "Screwworm is very destructive and could cost American producers millions of dollars a year if it reaches us. Americans have been investing in prevention efforts in Central America for decades, but we can't stop this without Mexico's participation. NCBA strongly supports Secretary Rollins holding Mexico to their commitments regarding screwworm eradication."
On April 18, the Ministry of Health confirmed that the parasite infected a 77-year-old woman in the southern, rural state of Chiapas after she suffered from a fall, causing a wound to her head where screwworm larvae then burrowed. She is in stable condition.
There have been no other human cases reported in the country, but the latest data from the World Organization for Animal Health lists 461 ongoing outbreaks in Mexico as of April 23. Most cases are in Chiapas and other neighboring states.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service temporarily halted livestock imports from Mexico in November after screwworm was detected in Chiapas for the first time in more than 30 years. It lifted the ban in February after Mexico enacted protocols to control the parasite.
Source: Courthouse News Service
