MEXICO CITY — Mexico and the United States said they would gradually reopen the U.S. border to cattle imports from Mexico in July after U.S. agriculture officials suspended them in May over fears of the northward spread of the screwworm, agriculture officials in both countries said.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said via X that over 100 million sterile flies were being dispersed weekly and there had been no northward spread in eight weeks.

The U.S. restricted Mexican cattle shipments in late November following the detection of the pest, but lifted the ban in February before suspending them again in May.

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