Costa Rica declares health emergency following detection of 203 screw-worm cases in cattle

Photo Credit: La Prensa

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: The Government of Costa Rica declared a health emergency on Wednesday after 203 screw-worm cases were discovered in cattle, horses, horses, pigs, sheep, and dogs in that country.

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves said the emergency decree seeks to prevent, control and eradicate the disease, according to Costa Rican La Prensa newspaper.

The screw-worm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, lays its larvae in any open cut in warm-blooded animals, including people. Hours later the screwworms are born within the host animal.

The director of Costa Rica’s National Animal Health Service (Senasa), Luis Matamoros, said the main objective of the health emergency decree in Costa Rica was to keep the disease from spreading to humans, other production and domestic animals, and wild animals as well.

La Prensa reports that five of the 203 cases are active and 198 are under control.

The Belize Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and organizations like the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, the International Regional Organization for Agricultural Health (OIRSA), and others have been working closely with countries in the region to prevent the screw-worn disease from entering the country and the region.

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