New Parasite Threatens Mammals

By Amy Fernandez

Fleas….the mere possibility of these minute pests is enough to rattle any fancier.

Although bubonic plague no longer tops the list of worst case flea scenarios, that jumpy little bug remains the opening act of a tedious horror show starring coat damage, flea bite allergies, tape worms, endless cleaning and laundry expense, as well as months of compulsively checking for another outbreak. It’s a sign of the times for sure. All in all, that really doesn’t sound too bad.

Yes, there’s a whole new generation of heavy artillery on the market designed to win the battle against fleas. However, that’s not the main reason fleas have lost their shock value. Compared to some of the stuff riding in here lately, like ticks and mosquitoes, a visit from the lowly flea almost seems like good news.

Fleas won’t kill your dog or you. Theoretically, a flea infestation of truly epic proportions might have a shot, but even that sounds preferable to the newest parasitic foe grabbing the headlines – Cochliomyia hominivorax, aka the New World or flesh eating screwworm.  Rest assured, it’s every bit as delightful as it sounds.

Lymes disease, West Nile virus, Zika, we’re all tuned into the virus bacteria situation these days, which is bad enough. Now, we can also worry about deadly assaults straight from an insect. The adult is just another fly, a buzzy, six-legged, compound-eyed annoyance that reproduces at a sci-fi rates. That’s the truly gross part. Screwworm larvae feed on live tissue – specifically warm blooded mammals – including humans and dogs. Fly repellents and scrupulous grooming are basically the only defense.

Any minor skin abrasion is a target. Initial symptoms of pain and itching spread to major organs and if untreated it’s fatal within 7-10 days. As far as agricultural pests go, it doesn’t get much worse. It’s been here before and done plenty of harm. Our last major outbreak began in Florida in the ‘30s and encompassed the entire Southeast. Containment and eradication cost approximately $20 million a year, but after a 20-year onslaught it looked like America was rid of this nasty piece of work.

Well…it’s baaack…. USDA’s National Veterinary Services Lab recently announced another historic milestone for 2016, the first screwworm outbreak in half a century.

It’s been off the radar for so long that no one even considered the possibility last summer when the screwworm began decimating a rare protected deer population at a Florida Keys wildlife refuge. These little mini-deer are the last remnants of an endangered subspecies and, so far, it’s wiped out about 15 percent of the herd and is the suspected cause of  several other unusual wildlife and pet fatalities in Monroe County. To date, no human or livestock cases have been reported and that, of course, is the primary fear.

State, federal, and local agencies have launched a full assault on the screwworm. The eradication method developed last time around, the sterile insect technique, is up and running. For years a USDA fly farm in Sebring, Florida produced and released an enormous subpopulation of irradiated, sterilized flies that literally neutered their population into extinction.

That took almost a decade. Experts predict that quick response will squash this one in six months or less. Although it hasn’t been utilized here since the ‘60s that biological control kit was ready to roll. Ever since that last ordeal, the USDA and its South American counterparts have maintained a sterile fly buffer zone between Panama and Colombia. It keeps the nasty thing at bay, but unfortunately hasn’t yet obliterated it.  It’s native to South America and still wreaks havoc in some countries including Cuba, which is the suspected source of this outbreak. The 9200-acre deer refuge is a popular illegal entry point for Cuban refugees.

So far, the infestation seems confined to the Lower Keys. Deer deaths have flat-lined, and not a moment too soon for those poor little things.  Ongoing disease surveillance and fly trapping has not revealed any spread. Over 5000 animals transported in and out of the Keys have been examined at mandatory checkpoints and the results are positive.

If all goes well, the quarantine will be lifted December 26 and everyone can enjoy a happy holiday and get back to obsessing about fleas.

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Posted by chesliepickett on Dec 6 2016. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.