U.S. officials worry that if the fly reaches Texas, its flesh-eating maggots could cause billions of dollars in losses and cause already record beef prices to rise even more.
Mexican flesh-eating parasite surged so fast that farmers in Texas, Mexico pour gasoline and lime on open cattle wounds
BY RAÚL MENDOZA, ISABEL MATEOS AND OTHERS
July 25, 2025
Flesh-eating parasite tears through Mexican cattle as Texas braces for ‘devastating pest’
BY FERNANDO LLANO, FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ AND OTHERS
Mexican cattle are again barred this month from entry to the United States over fears of spreading a flesh-eating parasite.
Martin Ibarra Vargas, a rancher in Sonora, calls it “tiempos de vacas flacas," the times of the lean cows.
By dropping the sterile, fully developed flies, the USDA plans to prevent flesh-eating maggots from reaching the United States.…
The American and Mexican governments are exploring “all options” to battle a deadly parasite threatening cattle and wildlife.
Mexico's president suggested the U.S. is exaggerating the threat but the U.S. largely eradicated this particular pest in the…
U.S. beef prices have been stubbornly high for a variety of reasons.
