public health

When it comes to science — from public health to climate change — the current administration is doing the latter, not the former.

Under a more than 30 percent cut to the agency’s budget, public health initiatives aimed at HIV/AIDS prevention would no longer exist, major parts of the National Institutes of Health would be abolished and the FDA would cease routine inspections at food facilities.

"It's obviously beyond that New World screwworm sterile barrier and so essentially, you're finding an insect in areas where it should not be found, and this is one that can cause tremendous harm to livestock, to wildlife and to humans. So it's a huge public health issue. It's an animal health issue, it's a health security issue ... That's a five-alarm fire. It needs to be jumped on and taken care of promptly," Bogoch explained.

"It's a huge public health issue. It's an animal health issue, it's a health security issue ... That's a five-alarm fire."

Most other respondents argue that the Mexican government's insistent focus on sovereignty in this case amounts to posturing and populism over good sense, given that screwworm is a genuine public health crisis affecting both countries, and that the United States are making a genuine and urgent appeal for cooperation.