With the detection of New World Screwworm now in the United States, we sat down with Dr. Edwin Burgess, Assistant Professor of Veterinarian Entomology at the University of Florida, a Florida Cattle Enhancement Board awarded researcher, to learn more about the New World Screwworm.
“So New World Screwworm is a fly. It is a shiny green fly, very closely related to the shiny green flies you might see in your backyard if you’re eating out by your garbage or by a dumpster,” described Burgess.
Burgess added, “But it’s unique in one key aspect, in that it is a fly whose larvae feed on living tissue of warm-blooded animals. And that’s distinct from other larvae of similarly related flies that feed on rotting organic material, which is why you find them around your garbage. That’s really the key distinction between them.”
“It’s very, very important for reporting. This cannot be more importantly stated. The fight for this is going to be really led by our ranchers. They’re the ones that have the animals. They’re the ones looking at them every day. They’re the ones, you know, with the boots on the ground,” Burgess emphasized.
“They are the frontline defense for us. And reporting as quickly and as clearly as possible is one of the absolute most important things that we can do to get control of this. The USDA is planning on releases and they’re using reporting data to modify the way that they are strategizing releases,” said Burgess.
Burgess also said, “And that data is generated from ranchers that are reporting. So it is critically important to report. You will not get in trouble. You will not be put on any kind of lists, nothing like that. By doing so, you are helping the nation fight the new world screw worm. And it is critically important.”
Audio Reporting by Elizabeth Sanders for Southeast AgNet.