(Reuters) -Mexico’s National Service of Agro-Alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality on Sunday confirmed a new case of New World screwworm in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, less than 70 miles (113 km) from the U.S.-Mexico border, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
“USDA is analyzing all new information related to the recent case in Nuevo Leon and will pursue all options to release sterile flies in this region as necessary,” USDA said.
A spokesperson for Mexico’s agriculture ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The flesh-eating screwworm parasite has moved northward through Central America and southern Mexico, putting the U.S. cattle industry on high alert.
The outbreak has prompted the U.S. government to keep its border mostly closed to Mexican cattle imports since May.
A human case of screwworm in the U.S. reported in August posed no risk to the farm sector, a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said at the time.
(Reporting by Anmol Choubey in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Cassandr Garrison in Mexico City; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Alistair Bell)
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