Mexico and U.S. Ramp Up Border Surveillance to Combat Screwworm Outbreak

Mexican and U.S. authorities have launched a coordinated binational effort to combat the screwworm, a pest threatening animal health and the livestock economy along their shared border. The initiative was solidified during a high-level virtual meeting focused on preventing the spread of the insect.

The meeting brought together representatives from key agencies, including Mexico's National Service for Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety and Quality (Senasica) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Officials from the border states of Chihuahua, Sonora, Baja California, Nuevo León, and Coahuila on the Mexican side, and Arizona, New Mexico, and California on the U.S. side, also participated.

During the session, delegates shared regional progress reports and analyzed joint strategies to strengthen sanitary surveillance and stop the pest's advance.

Mauro Parada, head of the Secretariat of Rural Development in Chihuahua, emphasized that safeguarding livestock and restoring export markets are top priorities. He advocated for establishing regular meetings to ensure a continuous flow of information and enhance binational cooperation.

Juan Carlos Flores, head of the state's Livestock Department, detailed technological measures deployed in Chihuahua, including GPS tracking for livestock in transit and trained canine units to detect the presence of the screwworm.

The innovative actions implemented by Chihuahua were acknowledged by other participants as a potential model for advancing animal health surveillance across the border region.