The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it doesn’t expect to reopen the southern border to cattle imports until at least after the holidays.
The border was initially closed to cattle last month in an effort to contain the spread of a deadly, flesh-eating parasite. A case of New World Screwworm was reported in a cow in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas in November.
The USDA said in a statement it will bolster checkpoint surveillance for cattle crossing through Mexico on their way to the border.
But it said it will take some time to set up the enhanced protocols, meaning the border will be closed to cattle imports for a total of at least a month.
The U.S. eradicated the New World Screwworm in 1966. The fly larvae can burrow into the skin of warm-blooded animals and can often be deadly.
There have been no confirmed cases of the screwworm in the state of Sonora, which borders Arizona, where many people make a living off raising and exporting cattle.
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