Flesh-Eating Parasite Threatens Mexican Livestock, Halts Exports

In southern Mexico, a fly that eats flesh is making animals sick.

This fly is called the screwworm.

It lays its eggs in open wounds, and the eggs hatch into maggots that eat the animal's flesh.

The U.S. is worried the fly might spread to the U.S., so it has stopped buying cattle from Mexico.

The government is trying to stop the fly by building a special plant to make sterile flies, but it's not ready yet.

Ranchers are having a hard time because the medicine is expensive, and they don't have much help from the government.