The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is advising livestock producers and pet owners to watch over their animals for signs of infestation of the New World screwworm. But Virginia’s state veterinarian, Dr. Charlie Broaddus, said there are a number of safeguards in place under current animal care protocols.
The advisory from VDACS comes after the discovery of confirmed cases in calves in Texas and a dog in New Mexico.
“The last time it was in Texas in the Southwest, anyway, was in 1966,” Broaddus told WTOP.
Part of the strategy in preventing the spread of the fly has been the use of a “sterile insect technique” that Broaddus said is “a very effective, tried and true method of reducing” the wild fly population.
Under that strategy, sterile male flies are bred, then released to reduce NWS fly populations.
According to a news release from VDACS, as more sterile flies are introduced into the affected areas, it’s expected that the NWS will once again be pushed out of the United States.
Surveillance, treatment and following existing animal transport requirements are key to containing any spread of infestation.
“There’s really no substitute for good old-fashioned observation of your animals,” Broaddus said.
He added that the pest is actually the larval stage of an insect that looks like the common housefly.
The difference is the New World screwworm fly typically lays its eggs in wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, “cattle, sheep, goats, horses, animals like that,” said Broaddus. The fly can also infest wild animals and pets.
For farmers and pet owners, Broaddus said it’s important to “really be observant” and “look for wounds and look for signs of larvae in those wounds, because if it’s caught early, it can be treated very effectively.”
While some states have enacted quarantines to prevent any spread of potential infestations, Broaddus said Virginia’s standing requirement for a certificate of veterinary inspection for any animals coming into the state, combined with restrictions in Texas and New Mexico, “really give us a kind of a good belt-and-suspenders approach there to doing everything we can do to prevent that from coming in” to other states.
Broaddus said because the NWS does not survive in regions with sustaining temperatures below 46 degrees, Virginia is not at risk for NWS to become established in the Commonwealth long-term.
Asked about safety in the food supply, Broaddus said, “It does not affect the safety of any meat products, or anything like that, nothing to worry about there at all.”