Oklahoma State Veterinarian Dr. Rod Hall has written this open letter on the latest on what is going on with New World Screwworm:
I wanted to give you all an update on the New World Screwworm situation.
The good news is that no new cases north of the cases in the southern Mexican states of Veracruz and Oaxaca that were discovered in early May have been found. Mexico is now allowing sterile fly dispersal flights seven days a week and a little over one million sterile flies are being dispersed over the area of the farthest north cases.
The bad news is that cattle from the Southern Mexican states and from Central America are moving to feedyards in northern Mexico with poor mitigation efforts to inspect and/or treat them. This could potentially allow some NWS flies to be present just south of the US/Mexico border.
We are continuing to meet with our Oklahoma NWS Working Group as well as a Working Group of State Veterinarians and USDA veterinarians to develop plans to respond to NWS if cases are confirmed in the USA.
We are working on purchasing and putting together sample submission kits to place at OSU County Extension offices. If producers find suspicious fly larvae they will be able to take representative larvae to the office and the Extension personnel will prepare the samples and ship them to OSU Plant Disease & Insect Diagnostic Lab for identification. If veterinarians find suspicious samples, or clients bring them samples, they will submit the samples to OADDL for identification.
If you see fly larvae (maggots) in a wound on a live animal, please call the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Animal Industry Services office at 405-522-6141. If it’s after hours, please call my mobile phone. We will help you with instructions on how to handle the specimens and submission.
I’ve also attached a one page graphic with information in case you’d like to print them out to post in offices or other places.
I want to emphasize that the risk of any fly larvae that you find at this time being true screwworm larvae is very low. The things that should make you be more suspicious are maggots in a live animal, especially deep in a wound, a nasty odor, or a large amount of reddish fluid oozing from the wound. Please call us if you suspect something, and let us help you decide whether to submit samples.
Thanks, we’ll keep you updated, and contact us with questions. Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend.
