Canadian authorities have announced a temporary suspension of livestock imports from Texas, USA, after screwworm larvae were detected twice in cattle, causing concern about potential widespread spread.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on 5 Jun 2026 GMT+7 a temporary ban on livestock imports from Texas, USA, following reports of screwworm larvae found in calves in that state twice over the past week.
CFIA's statement said that cattle and horses that have been in Texas at any time within 21 days before crossing the border into Canada will not be allowed entry into the country.
The announcement followed the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) disclosure that a second case of this parasite was found in a Texas calf, prompting Governor Greg Abbott to declare a disaster situation last Friday, as Texas is the largest beef and livestock producer in the country and an outbreak could have severe consequences.
"This issue is likely to spread throughout the summer," Abbott told reporters on Friday.
The New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly whose females lay eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, including humans. Once hatched, hundreds of larvae use their sharp mouthparts to burrow into living tissue, which can ultimately kill the host if untreated.
On Wednesday, U.S. officials announced that Texas detected screwworm larvae in a calf for the first time in over 60 years. The larvae were found near the navel of a three-week-old calf in La Pryor, approximately 48 kilometers from the Mexico border.
Then on Friday, a second case was found in a one-month-old calf in Zavala County, just 9 kilometers from the first case. The USDA stated that this discovery occurred while officials were testing several "suspected cases."
The USDA added that the second case was found within a 20-kilometer "quarantine zone" established after the first case, where they have implemented measures of quarantine, movement control, and surveillance to prevent the parasite's spread.
These two U.S. cases are part of the ongoing spread of screwworm larvae moving through the Americas and Mexico, which U.S. public health and agricultural authorities have been closely monitoring.
This parasite was declared eradicated from the U.S. in 1966 but sporadic cases have occurred since, including a major outbreak in the 1970s.
The screwworm larvae develop into flies capable of short-distance flight; however, their primary long-distance spread is facilitated by human activity.
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Source:bbc