Screw worm squabble - Medical personnel differ over whether infections are on the increase

Christopher Serju, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Government officials are downplaying fears that the country could face more problems with the dreaded screw worm pest after the state spent J$1.9 billion over 10 years on the failed National Screw Worm Eradication Programme.

Dr Osbil Watson, chief veterinarian in Veterinarian Services Division of the agriculture ministry, last week argued that there had been no recent flare-ups or indicators to give cause for concern.

"We have not seen any significant rise in infestation, and remember that infestation is a direct factor of how well animal wounds are managed. It's directly proportional," Watson told The Sunday Gleaner.

"We have now come to understand more about the whole epidemiology of the screw worm fly because we were not aware of the intensity as it relates to human infestation," added Watson.

Using the limited incidents of reported cases of recent screw worm infestation as a gauge, Watson was adamant that even in the absence of precise data, the infestation is under control.

"We could have given you when we had an active programme the actual amount of cases we pick up for a month but we have fewer people on the ground dealing with screw worm infestation right now," the chief veterinarian admitted.

But a veteran livestock specialist, who asked not to be named, disagreed with Watson and charged that there could be a resurgence of infestation in both animals and humans.

"You really wouldn't know the true effect of it unless you do some kind of study to say where we are now, and the downside is that it is of major economic importance because it also affects you doing trade with other countries. It has big implications for us, not just because of our local consumption where animals are concerned but also for trading purposes," said the livestock specialist.

"The fact that the programme never achieved what it was supposed to do, which is eradication, there is a possibility that there could be an upsurge of it again.

"There are still farmers out there complaining about the whole screw worm thing, and the most we can tell them to do is to be vigilant as possible; to say that as soon as you see the animal get a wound, you try to make to treat it early that it doesn't get to that stage, but it is still a major problem with us," added the livestock specialist.

HUMAN INFESTATION

He also expressed concern about the human infestation, which he believes Jamaica is ill-prepared to handle. Between 1998 and 2009 some 509 cases human infestation were identified in Jamaica. At least two persons are believed to have died as a result.

"I don't think a lot of research has been done on that aspect, and so most health personnel may be slow to pick on the infestation," he explained.

This claim was supported by two of three other veterinarians interviewed.

"Really bad, it's getting really bad again and getting worse," one of the vets told The Sunday Gleaner.

"It's really bad, it's really, really, really bad. We are constantly battling screw worm infestation in cattle, it's a daily thing. Even without a wound, if the cattle have ticks, even if there is a minor tick infestation, especially in the ear or around the tail, it doesn't take long for flies to gather.

"The flies have become extremely aggressive. Usually you have to have a lesion, or in the case of a calf at birth and the navel is wet, then they'll go in that way, but now it just needs a tick bite and that's enough to trigger an infestation," charged the other vet.

However, the third vet argued that the problem is no worse than before.

"It is where it always was. The cases are continuing to occur in animals and in humans, and that would be expected because once the fly is here it is going to reproduce."

Introduced in 1998 and initially scheduled for three years, the screw worm eradication programme used the sterile insect technique (SIT) where millions of sterile screw worm flies were dispersed along specially designed grids.

WASTEFUL SPENDING

The programme was extended on a number of occasions well after its three-year deadline, until Parliament's Standing Finance Committee put the brakes on the wasteful spending. According to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the SIT has been used to eradicate the screw worm from 13 countries, including Curaçao, the United States of America, Mexico, Libya and Costa Rica.

Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary in the agriculture ministry, has blamed the failure of the initiative on a number of factors, including the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes, industrial action, the large stray dog population and high funding cost.

"We are a small country and at a point in time we had to face the serious question. We had spent so much, we had a fiscal challenge and we had to go back to the drawing board to see whether or not we could in fact deal with this thing another way, and took the painful decision then to really scale down the thing (to a controlled programme)," said Stanberry.

New World Screw Worm infestation is regarded as one of the five most dangerous livestock diseases in the Americas, ranking with Foot-and-Mouth, Classical Swine Fever, Avian Influenza Bird Flu, and Rabies.