While Mexico has reported a sharp 32-percent rise in cases of flesh-eating screwworms across the country, Jalisco officials have declared that the state remains free of the devastating livestock parasite, thanks to strict surveillance and coordinated prevention measures.
The state’s monitoring and inspection system has kept cattle herds safe even as outbreaks expand northward from southern Mexico, according to the Jalisco Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) and the Agency of Health, Safety and Agrifood Quality (SENASICA). Inspections continue in certified corrals authorized to receive cattle from the most affected regions of Yucatán, Oaxaca and Tabasco.
On October 3, officials from SADER inspected a shipment of cattle from Yucatán at the El Cacalote corral in Tepatitlán de Morelos, part of the Los Altos region. All animals were examined individually, and no screwworm larvae were detected. In total, 29 shipments—comprising 2,268 animals—have been screened in 11 corrals statewide, with no positive cases found.
The state’s vigilance contrasts sharply with the national picture. A report by the federal sanitation agency Senasica, cited by Reuters, shows Mexico has now confirmed more than 6,700 animal infestations since the outbreak began in November 2024—up from just over 5,000 cases a month earlier. Most infections have been found in cattle, though the parasite also affects goats, dogs, and other warm-blooded animals, and can infect humans.
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