Minister Jose Mai chairs discussions on screwworm control with regional Ministers of Agriculture in El Salvador

Published by [email protected] at April 26, 2025

Posted: Saturday, April 26, 2025. 6:11 pm CST.

By Hugh O’Brien: Minister of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise, Jose Abelardo Mai, is currently in San Salvador chairing a regional meeting of Ministers of Agriculture from Central America, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, organized by the International/Regional Organization for Plant and Animal Health (OIRSA). The main purpose of the meeting is for regional Ministers to share their experiences and current status of each country’s screwworm management and control program, highlighting both the strengths and the challenges faced during implementation.

At the Ministerial meeting, each of the nine (9) OIRSA member countries is making a country presentation and this is followed by a discussion on how to strengthen efforts to control the spread of the New World Screwworm (NWS). In addition, the Ministers of Agriculture are discussing a regional plan and budget for the eradication of the NWS, and this will be presented to the United States and other agencies for consideration.

During Belize’s presentation, Minister Mai highlighted that in four (4) months following the discovery of the 1st NWS case in Belize on December 26th, 2024, a cumulative total of 63 cases has been detected despite no sterile flies having been released in Belize. Minister Mai also noted that the north remains relatively free, with no cases reported in the Corozal District and only two (2) cases in the Orange Walk District. In addition, there has been no human case confirmed in Belize, much unlike our Central American neighbours, in particular Nicaragua where 94 cases in human have been reported.

While Belize has 63 cases reported so far, Nicaragua leads the region with 121,177 cumulative cases, followed by Panama, Costa Rica and Honduras, all with numerous cases. Salvador has reported 1,171 cases, mostly in pets, and Mexico has reported 1,015 cases, one (1) of which was in a human. Mexico has reported Next to Belize, Guatemala has the least reported cases at 555, but it is commonly accepted in the region that Guatemala has the weakest surveillance, monitoring and reporting system in place.

Minister Mai accredited Belize’s success to the advanced planning and the very effective on the ground programs put in place by the Belize Agricultural Health Authority (BAHA) with major support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Belize Livestock Producers Association (BLPA) and cattle farmers, OIRSA, USDA-APHIS and IICA. This collaborative effort will continue and this same effort will be used in the event that funding is secured for a regional eradication program.

The delegation accompanying Minister Jose Abelardo Mai includes Chief Executive Officer, Servulo Baeza, Senior Advisor and Chairman of Belize’s National Screwworm Coordination Committee, Hugh O’Brien, and OIRSA Country Director, Fermin Blanco.

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