Screwworm threat forces U.S. to halt cattle imports from Mexico

NEW YORK, May 12 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she was suspending imports of livestock through the Mexican border on a "month-by-month basis" to protect U.S. cattle from the threat of a dangerous, flesh-eating parasite infestation.

The parasite is the New World Screwworm, or NWS, which is actually a fly and was eradicated in the United States almost 60 years ago. The Agriculture Department said in a statement on Sunday that NWS was recently detected in remote Mexican farms within 700 miles of the U.S. border. The statement cited "unacceptable northward advancement of NWS" and said additional action must be taken.