The Indiana Board of Animal Health has adopted animal movement restrictions after a pest not seen for decades made its way to the southern United States this month.
According to a United States Department of Agriculture press release, the department confirmed a detection of New World screwworm in Texas. They have not been found in Indiana.
New World screwworms are parasitic flies attracted to living tissue of warm-blooded animals to lay eggs. Denise Derrer Spears, communication director for the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, said the pest can enter through open wounds on pets or livestock and are distinguishable from native fly species.
“... They have big orange eyes, and they have a blue or shiny green back to them,” Derrer Spears said. “And then three large black stripes on the back of their body.”
After the flies lay eggs, they hatch into larvae that feed on healthy tissue, then drop to the soil to pupate and emerge as adult flies in about three weeks.
Despite not being detected in Indiana, Derrer Spears said the state’s BOAH has imposed animal movement restrictions in accordance with USDA guidelines. If the pest arrives in Indiana, Derrer Spears said she does not expect it to be a year-round issue.
“It'll be more like a seasonal issue because of that life cycle that involves the pest having to stay in the soil for a certain period of time before it can hatch out,” she said. “That could limit its ability to overwinter, because our soils get colder than what it can survive.”
If livestock, poultry or companion animals are coming from an infested zone, the animal must be seen, inspected and certified by a USDA-accredited veterinarian within five days before arriving in Indiana. Animals must also be treated with preventative products as identified by the Food and Drug Administration.
Derrer Spears said while human infection is possible, it is not expected to be a major problem in the U.S.
Bret Marsh, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue University, said the price of food could change as the extent of the infection in the U.S. continues to be determined.
“These flies do not present a food safety risk, so there may be some fluctuations in the market, particularly in the early days here, as countries that receive our product may place restrictions while we determine the extent of the infection in the United States,” he said.
The cost of a pound of ground beef was just over $7 in May, according to consumer price index data, an increase of approximately 13% compared to last year. Beef prices have continued to rise as U.S. cattle herd face dwindling populations.
