Mexico says screwworm case near U.S. border contained

MEXICO CITY >> A confirmed case of an animal infected with the flesh-eating screwworm parasite in Mexico’s northern Nuevo Leon state near the U.S. border was immediately treated to prevent a further outbreak, the Mexican government said today.

The country’s agriculture ministry said there was no risk of adult screwworm fly emergence due to the early detection of the infected bovine, which was confirmed on Sunday.

Fly traps in northern Mexico have not detected a single screwworm fly, the statement added.

The screwworm parasite has moved northward through Central America and Mexico, rattling the U.S. cattle industry and prompting the U.S. government to keep its border mostly closed to Mexican cattle imports since May, adding to trade tensions between the two countries.

The U.S. Departmen