{"id":13589,"date":"2024-12-04T10:50:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-04T10:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=13589"},"modified":"2024-12-04T10:50:50","modified_gmt":"2024-12-04T10:50:50","slug":"a-parasite-that-eats-cattle-alive-is-creeping-north-toward-the-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topat10.com\/?p=13589","title":{"rendered":"A Parasite That Eats Cattle Alive Is Creeping North Toward the US"},"content":{"rendered":"


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On November 22,<\/span> the United States Department of Agriculture temporarily halted the import of cattle from Mexico after a flesh-eating parasite was detected in animals in southern Mexico.<\/a> Before the discovery of cattle screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax<\/em>) at an inspection point in the state of Chiapas, the species had previously been eliminated in North America since the end of the 19th century. The US\u2013Mexico border remains closed to cattle and may not reopen until the new year.<\/p>\n

The worm is the larva of a metallic blue-green fly that spends the early part of its life cycle devouring the living flesh of mammals. Infestations can be fatal. Cows are the screwworm\u2019s favorite feast, but the maggots can also feed on other livestock<\/a> as well as wildlife and pets. Flies often lay their eggs near open wounds, and if the larvae can find a hole in the skin to deploy their sharp mouth hooks, they will then bury themselves in the animal\u2019s flesh and gorge.<\/p>\n

The finding in Mexico follows the recent reappearance of the parasite in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala. In the face of the reemergence of the parasite, Mexico is intensifying sanitary measures\u2014calling for the treatment of wounds in livestock, larvicide baths, and deworming of cattle\u2014and has introduced inspection stations like the one that discovered the case in Chiapas. But conservationists from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Mexican ranchers warn that the illegal cattle trade will be the real gateway for the disease to enter North America.<\/p>\n

Prior to the closure of its border with the US, Mexico\u2019s National Confederation of Livestock Organizations had called on the government to clamp down on cattle smuggling across Mexico\u2019s southern border. The risk from the parasite is great, and if it becomes established again, the cost of eliminating it in Mexico would be high. Disruption of trade with the US was also be highly costly. In 2023 alone, Mexico\u2019s exports of live cattle and beef to the US were worth $3 billion.<\/p>\n

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