By admin 
TUCSON, AZ (AZFamily) — The federal government is tapping the University of Arizona to help increase the state’s early warning and defense system against the New World screwworm.
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The United States Department of Agriculture gave the Tucson-based university $3.74 million to increase the state’s preparedness for the parasitic fly as it threatens the $113 billion U.S. cattle industry for the first time in more than half a century.
The New World Screwworm is a parasitic fly that feeds on the flesh or tissue or warm-blooded animals, even humans. The flies find open wounds or body openings, where eggs are laid. Those eggs hatch into larvae that eat flesh.
The driving force behind the grant is Amy Ganguli at the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences, who brought together experts from different fields, including ranchers and farmers, to be part of the grant process.
“There’s no guarantee that we can prevent New World Screwworm from getting to Arizona, but what we can do is just make sure that we are very prepared to deal with it when it gets here,” Ganguli said.
The grant will strengthen Arizona’s ability to detect, prepare for and respond to the New World screwworm by combining science, technology, economics and community outreach before a crisis hits.
“This is an example of the land grant engine revving up to bring innovative resources to livestock producers and the public in all 15 Arizona counties and 22 federally recognized tribes. University researchers worked closely with us to respond quickly to the call for proposals, and this funding will help power the all-hands-on-deck effort required to protect our livestock industry and once again push this pest out of our country,” Paul Brierley, director of the Arizona Department of Agriculture, said in a statement.
The New World screwworm was a massive problem in U.S. cattle herds for much of the 20th century, killing countless cows and . One screwworm outbreak in Texas in 1935 is estimated to have killed 180,000 cattle. It was mostly eradicated from the United States by 1966 via the release of .
Some of Arizona’s congressional delegation, as well as Arizona ranchers, have called for the USDA to re-establish a sterile fly facility in Douglas, but there is no official movement on that as of now.
Currently, the only way to officially confirm a screwworm case is to have a rare specialist examine each sample by hand. The University of Arizona project will add a polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, diagnostic test — a faster DNA-based test — so labs are not overrun during an outbreak and answers can come more quickly.
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“Many foreign animal diseases are tested by PCR, a reliable technology that allows us to perform testing in volume much more efficiently,” Emily Janovyak, assistant director of the Arizona Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said. “This molecular platform is more agile and scalable. Instead of relying exclusively on experienced entomologists, we could leverage a wider pool of laboratory professionals well-versed in PCR testing.”
The project is also hoping to add an extra set of eyes on Arizona cattle with virtual fencing collars and satellite-based GPS ear tags. By tracking the animals’ movement and physical changes, experts can identify the early signs of infection.
“This work represents one of the first efforts to integrate precision livestock technologies into disease surveillance on rangelands,” Flavie Audoin, assistant professor at the University of Arizona, said.
Researchers will also develop a tool that creates risk maps for the New World screwworm to help predict where the screwworm is heading across all animals, not just cattle. It could help the entire country prepare, not just Arizona.
Earlier this month, five cases of New World screwworm were detected in calves, a goat and a dog in Texas.
It caused Canada to restrict cattle imports from the United States and raised the specter of a wider outbreak.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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