Sniffer dogs help Mexico fight the flesh-eating screwworm
Trained to detect the smell of screwworm, a flesh-eating pest that has infected Mexico's cattle herd and disrupted livestock trade with the United States, Hummer and his canine colleagues offer a glimmer of hope in controlling the worm.
At a government-run training center about an hour outside Mexico City, officials from a special unit of the country's health safety agency Senasica run a three-month intensive training program for a select group of dogs to sniff out screwworm and other pests or diseases in live animals or agricultural products.
Most of the dogs are rescued from shelters, allowing animals that may have been abandoned for being too difficult to find a new life. Feisty pups that steal food from the table, never calm down and have a relentless desire to play are the perfect candidates.
"Sometimes what people don't want is the ideal for us," said Cesar Dangu, head of the canine training center Ceacan. "We also have to look for other qualities: that they don't get angry, they are affectionate, they can live with people and with other animals."
Not all dogs respond to the aroma of screwworm, a pest that infests livestock and wildlife and carries maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.
Some dogs will refuse to approach the aroma, Dangu said, making those that take to it even more valuable in their task.
After cases started emerging in Mexico, the U.S. closed its southern border to imports of certain livestock, including cattle, in May before a gradual reopening began this week.
On Wednesday, however, the U.S. government once again closed the border to cattle after a new case of screwworm was detected in Veracruz state, about 370 miles (595 km) south of the U.S. border, a decision Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called "exaggerated."
On a sunny afternoon at Ceacan, just hours after the border closure announcement, the work of the dogs took on new urgency.
There are only six screwworm-sniffing dogs working at a livestock border passage in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, the heart of Mexico's screwworm infestation.
Havana, a two-year-old Shepherd mix, practices detecting screwworm on cow-sized equipment inside a greenhouse, a training exercise meant to mimic the sweltering heat the dogs must tolerate in Chiapas, said instructor Mayte Tontle.
"We want our dogs to adapt as much as possible to the real-life conditions," Tontle said.
With at least 47 new cases of screwworm detected daily in Mexico, according to government data, the handful of highly trained canines are a small element of Mexico's response, which also includes a $51 million facility in Chiapas to produce sterile flies to reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies.
The plant, with a hefty $21 million investment from the U.S., is expected to be ready in the first half of 2026.
The dogs trained at Ceacan will work until they complete eight years on the job or turn 10 years old, whichever comes first.
After that, they retire.
"I would say 99% of the dogs are adopted by their handler. There is an unbreakable link because of the love between the handler and the dog," Dangu said.
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Reuters
2 days ago
- Reuters
Sniffer dogs help Mexico fight the flesh-eating screwworm
TECAMAC, Mexico, July 11 (Reuters) - With tail wagging, tongue out and ears perked, Hummer - a young mixed breed dog with a slick black coat - sits down in front of a sample of screwworm scent, promptly accepting praise and treats from his handler. Trained to detect the smell of screwworm, a flesh-eating pest that has infected Mexico's cattle herd and disrupted livestock trade with the United States, Hummer and his canine colleagues offer a glimmer of hope in controlling the worm. At a government-run training center about an hour outside Mexico City, officials from a special unit of the country's health safety agency Senasica run a three-month intensive training program for a select group of dogs to sniff out screwworm and other pests or diseases in live animals or agricultural products. Most of the dogs are rescued from shelters, allowing animals that may have been abandoned for being too difficult to find a new life. Feisty pups that steal food from the table, never calm down and have a relentless desire to play are the perfect candidates. "Sometimes what people don't want is the ideal for us," said Cesar Dangu, head of the canine training center Ceacan. "We also have to look for other qualities: that they don't get angry, they are affectionate, they can live with people and with other animals." Not all dogs respond to the aroma of screwworm, a pest that infests livestock and wildlife and carries maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage. Some dogs will refuse to approach the aroma, Dangu said, making those that take to it even more valuable in their task. After cases started emerging in Mexico, the U.S. closed its southern border to imports of certain livestock, including cattle, in May before a gradual reopening began this week. On Wednesday, however, the U.S. government once again closed the border to cattle after a new case of screwworm was detected in Veracruz state, about 370 miles (595 km) south of the U.S. border, a decision Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called "exaggerated." On a sunny afternoon at Ceacan, just hours after the border closure announcement, the work of the dogs took on new urgency. There are only six screwworm-sniffing dogs working at a livestock border passage in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, the heart of Mexico's screwworm infestation. Havana, a two-year-old Shepherd mix, practices detecting screwworm on cow-sized equipment inside a greenhouse, a training exercise meant to mimic the sweltering heat the dogs must tolerate in Chiapas, said instructor Mayte Tontle. "We want our dogs to adapt as much as possible to the real-life conditions," Tontle said. With at least 47 new cases of screwworm detected daily in Mexico, according to government data, the handful of highly trained canines are a small element of Mexico's response, which also includes a $51 million facility in Chiapas to produce sterile flies to reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies. The plant, with a hefty $21 million investment from the U.S., is expected to be ready in the first half of 2026. The dogs trained at Ceacan will work until they complete eight years on the job or turn 10 years old, whichever comes first. After that, they retire. "I would say 99% of the dogs are adopted by their handler. There is an unbreakable link because of the love between the handler and the dog," Dangu said.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
US has reclosed its southern border after a flesh-eating parasite is seen further north in Mexico
The U.S. has closed its southern border again to livestock imports, saying a flesh-eating parasite has moved further north in Mexico than previously reported. Mexico's president was critical Thursday, suggesting that the U.S. is exaggerating the threat to its beef industry from the parasite, the New World screwworm fly. The female flies lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, hatching larvae that are unusual among flies for feeding on live flesh and fluids instead of dead material. American officials worry that if the fly reaches Texas, its flesh-eating maggots could cause large economic losses, something that happened decades ago. The U.S. largely eradicated the pest in the 1970s by breeding and releasing sterile male flies to breed with wild females, and the fly had been contained in Panama for years until it was discovered in southern Mexico late last year. The U.S. closed its southern border in May to imports of live cattle, horses and bison but announced June 30 that it would allow three ports of entry to reopen this month and another two by Sept. 15. However, since then, an infestation from the fly has been reported 185 miles (298 kilometers) northeast of Mexico City, about 160 miles (258 kilometers) further north than previously reported cases. That was about 370 miles (595 kilometers) from the Texas border. 'The United States has promised to be vigilant,' U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement Wednesday announcing the border closing. 'Thanks to the aggressive monitoring by USDA staff in the U.S. and in Mexico, we have been able to take quick and decisive action to respond to the spread of this deadly pest.' In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum said authorities there were following all established protocols to deal with the northernmost case. Mexican authorities said the country has 392 infected animals, down nearly 19% since June 24. 'From our point of view, they took a totally exaggerated decision to closing the border again,' Sheinbaum said. 'Everything that scientifically should be done is being done.' Three weeks ago, Rollins announced plans for combating the parasite that include spending nearly $30 million on new sites for breeding and dispersing sterile male flies. Once released in the wild, those males would mate with females, causing them to lay eggs that won't hatch so that the fly population would die out. The USDA hopes a new fly factory will be operating in southern Mexico by July 2026 to supplement fly breeding at an existing complex in Panama. The agency also plans to open a site in southern Texas for holding sterile flies imported from Panama, so they can be released along the border if necessary. Also Thursday, U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzalez, of Texas, and Kat McCammack, of Florida, urged the Trump administration to quickly approve the use of existing anti-parasite treatments for New World screwworm fly infestations in livestock. They said labeling requirements currently prevent it.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Reuters
US again halts cattle imports from Mexico over flesh-eating screwworms
CHICAGO, July 10 (Reuters) - The flesh-eating livestock pest New World screwworm has advanced closer to the U.S. border with Mexico, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, prompting Washington to block imports of Mexican cattle just days after it allowed them to resume at a port of entry in Arizona. Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, usually livestock and wild animals. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. Mexico reported a new case of screwworm about 370 miles south of the U.S. border in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz, on Tuesday, the USDA said in a statement, opens new tab late on Wednesday. The agency ordered the closure of livestock trade through southern ports of entry effective immediately. "Closing the border isn't just justified, it's essential," said Bill Bullard, CEO of U.S. cattle producers' group R-CALF USA. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called the decision "exaggerated," saying it was prompted by a single new case. "It is an exaggerated measure in the face of a situation that is under control," Sheinbaum said at her morning press conference on Thursday. At its peak in late June, Mexico registered 480 cases. According to the latest data from the Agriculture Ministry, that number has dropped below 400 as Mexico continues to target the pest. "We hope that they will reopen very soon," Sheinbaum added, even as the United States expresses concerns about the disease approaching Mexico's northern border. An infestation in the United States could further tighten supplies of cattle, which are at their lowest levels in decades, and also endanger other livestock and household pets. The USDA suspended Mexican cattle imports in May after screwworm was detected about 700 miles from the U.S. border at farms in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico. The agency said last week that it would resume imports on Monday at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, as part of a phased reopening of the border because screwworms had not been moving north in Mexico. Now, the USDA needs to see more progress in combating the pest in Veracruz and nearby Mexican states to reopen livestock ports on the southern border, Secretary Brooke Rollins said. Screwworms were eradicated from the United States in the 1960s when researchers released sterilized male screwworm flies that mate with wild female screwworms to produce infertile eggs. The USDA said last month that it would build a sterile fly dispersal facility in Hidalgo County, Texas, and consider a sterile fly production facility. The agency should immediately begin work on a U.S. sterile fly production facility, said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association industry group. "The New World screwworm's northward movement jeopardizes the safety of American agriculture," he said. "We cannot wait any longer." The Mexican Beef Producers Association said in a statement that it regrets the halt while Mexico's government has indicated that it has been working on the release of sterile flies.
