US suspends import of Mexican cattle after ‘flesh-eating’ parasite infection

The US decision to suspend imports only applies to Mexican live cattle, as Mexico is taking measures to prevent parasitic infections in livestock.

On November 25, the Mexican government announced that the US had temporarily suspended imports of live cattle from the Latin American country after detecting cases of “spiral maggot” parasites from the carnivorous gray fly Cochliomyia hominivorax in the town of Catazajá, southern Chiapas state.

A TTXVN reporter in Mexico quoted a statement from the government of this country saying that authorities of the two countries are working to implement measures to resume import and export activities. The decision to suspend imports from the neighboring country only applies to Mexican live cattle, not other agricultural products. The Mexican livestock industry is also seeking to control and implement effective preventive measures to prevent parasitic infections in the country’s livestock.

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Cochliomyia hominivorax is a species of fly in the family Calliphoridae that lives in the Americas. The larvae of this fly have a twisted, screw-like shape and usually enter the host through an open wound, the umbilical cord of a newborn host, or the ear. This is a parasitic fly, in which the larvae feed on the living tissue of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Infection with this parasite can be difficult to detect, but is manifested by a growing wound and a creamy-looking larva.

On November 22, the US Department of Agriculture announced that it had received information from Mexican authorities about the discovery of a case of a cow on a livestock farm near the border with Guatemala infected with the flesh-eating fly parasite. US authorities have requested production enterprises and related units in Mexico and Central American countries to strengthen surveillance and epidemiological inspection at livestock and poultry farms, and immediately report cases of infection.

In July, Costa Rica reported 361 cases of the “flesh-eating maggot” parasite in one week, bringing the number of people infected with the disease to more than 3,000 in less than a year in the country, including two deaths. Mexico immediately issued a red alert about the risk of the spread of the flesh-eating fly parasite from neighboring Central American countries, setting up dozens of epidemiological checkpoints at southern border gates to prevent the entry of this dangerous disease./.

Phuong Lan
TTXVN/ Vietnam+

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