The first case of New World screwworm (NWS) in Arizona has been confirmed in a canine in Cochise County.
According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture, a local veterinarian examined the animal on the evening of October 26 and identified a wound on the canine’s back heavily infested with maggots consistent with NWS characteristics.
“We remain prepared and vigilant, and we urge all livestock owners, pet owners and other animal industry partners to continue to monitor animals closely and report any unusual wounds consistent with NWS immediately,” the department said on its website.
The latest case comes after NWS was confirmed in wildlife for the first time on October 21, in an elk harvested on a game ranch in Pecos County, Texas. After that detection, the Texas Animal Health Commission said it would change the boundaries of an infested zone it set up previously. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the state wildlife department are also doing more wildlife surveillance in the area.
Cases of NWS in livestock and domestic animals have also been confirmed in Texas and New Mexico.
The pest is the larva of a fly that lays eggs in open wounds and body openings of warm-blooded animals. The larvae feed on living tissue.
