The screwworm is a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly that can invade the tissues of any warm-blooded animal, including humans.

The threat from the flesh-eating maggots, known as the New World Screwworm, has suspended live cattle imports through the southern border.

To stop the spread of a flesh-eating parasite, U.S. officials have halted all imports of live cattle, horses and bison from Mexico. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the import pause Sunday after parasitic New World screwworms were found in "remote farms with minimal cattle" in Mexico,