New World screwworm, a fly whose larvae feed on the living flesh of animals, has turned up in Arizona for the first time in decades, in a dog on a ranch in Cochise County.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the case Wednesday, Oct. 28, FOX 10 reported, and the Arizona Department of Agriculture announced it at a virtual news conference the same day. Officials did not say where in the southeastern Arizona county the ranch is.
According to AZFamily, a local veterinarian examined the dog on Oct. 26 and found a wound on its back that was heavily infested; lab testing confirmed screwworm. State officials said the dog has "no movement history," and other animals on the ranch will be checked.
Officials described it as the first case in a dog in the United States, though livestock cases have been reported, including in sheep and cattle in Texas and New Mexico.
What happens next
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is running a joint response with the state. It plans to set up an "infested zone" around the detection site and step up surveillance of animals and outreach to owners, AZFamily reported. Arizona is also coordinating with neighboring states and with officials in Mexico.
State Veterinarian Ryan Wolker said the pest was "previously eradicated from the United States in 1966" and that Arizona had not seen it "in the better part of 50 years." He also said it "is very treatable." Agriculture Director Paul E. Brierley said the state has spent more than a year preparing.
Earlier this year the USDA gave the University of Arizona a $3.74 million grant for screwworm preparedness, and state officials are pushing for a sterile fly facility planned in Douglas, according to AZFamily.
