State authorities installed a sanitary fence between Oaxaca and Chiapas to prevent screwworm infections in animals.
Personnel from the National Service of Health, Safety, and Agrifood Quality (Senasica) and workers from the Mexican-American Commission against Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Exotic Diseases have participated in the development of this project.
Medicines will be distributed to livestock organizations.
Víctor López Leyva, head of the Secretariat of Agrarian Promotion and Rural Development (Sefader), reported that a force of 50 technicians and 120 inspectors was deployed to set up 30 mobile inspection and review points along highways to prevent the possible introduction of sick animals into Oaxaca.
In addition, work will be done on the construction and equipment of sterile flies, which will slow vector-borne transmission of the infection.
They will also distribute medications to livestock organizations, such as larvicides and antibiotics to treat any illnesses or injuries the animals may have.
He indicated that so far, Oaxaca has zero reported cases, following the infection identified in a horse transported from the Chiapas region to Matías Romero.
“They will install three fences across the country to combat the screwworm, in the south, center, and north of the country. Along the border, shipments and exports to the United States from Monterrey, Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas will be verified, while the central zone will be a buffer zone and the southeastern zone will be a prevention zone,” he said.
He explained that Oaxaca is moving more than 200,000 head of cattle and calves annually, weighing between 200 and 400 kilos, to compete for the meat market alongside Tabasco, Chiapas, and Veracruz.
He recalled that Oaxaca had already recorded the screwworm in 1960, but the outbreak was controlled with homemade techniques.
Source: milenio
