All Hands on Deck to Keep Screwworms at Bay

Belize is staying on high alert with preventative measures in place, but Blanco told News Five that keeping screwworm at bay needs teamwork from everyone in the cattle industry, including the Belize Livestock Producers Association. He pointed out that the spread of this pesky parasitic fly is linked to the illegal movement of cattle across the region.

 

On the phone: Fermin Blanco, Country Representative, OIRSA

“It is a joint effort that the organization is doing with BAHA.  It’s a team effort, it is the Ministry of Agriculture, it’s BAHA, it’s IICA, it’s OIRSA, it’s the Belize Livestock Producers Association.  Everybody has to come on board to prevent the entrance of this pest into Belize.  So it’s not a one entity thing, it’s a combined effort and our bet here is to prevent as much as possible the entrance of this fly.  What happened is that this fly moves along with the illegal movement of cattle in Central America and Belize is not a route for those animals.  It travels from Nicaragua, to Honduras, to Guatemala, to Mexico.  So that has been the pattern of the fly where it has been detected.  So, for us here, we just have to strengthen the securities at the border points and the unofficial border points so as to prevent as much as possible the entrance of this pest into Belize.  So we are working hand in hand with BAHA, with IICA, and the Ministry of Agriculture, like I said.”