Flesh-eating screwworm returns to Arizona

For the first time in decades, a destructive livestock pest has come back to Arizona. State and federal officials have confirmed a case of the flesh-eating New World screwworm in a Cochise County dog. Megan Spector is in Wickenburg with how local ranchers are responding. That confirmed case may be over 200 miles away in southeastern Arizona, but livestock owners across the state are now on high alert. Here at Roper Nation in Wickenburg, ranchers aren't taking any chances. The first step in that is treating them with an injectable that is called Dectomax CA-1. Also, we use a topical pour-on that has ivermectin in it that's going to help with fly control. Thank you. Also, we do have fly bags that are hanging in the pastures. Keeping the pest out starts with constant inspections. Making sure our cattle don't have any wounds, you know, and if they do have a wound, going ahead and inspecting that wound. That's critical because screwworm flies target open wounds, laying eggs that hatch into flesh-eating maggots capable of killing an animal if left untreated. The U.S. wiped out the pest back in the 1960s, but after decades away, there's now one confirmed case in Arizona, in a rural part of Cochise County. In these infested zones, there is a requirement. This fly can affect all warm-blooded species, so state officials say vigilance is key. And while Roper Nation is hundreds of miles from the confirmed case, and the owner says there are no signs of the pest here, eyes are still on every animal. We have competitions here. 6 days a week and we'll bring in different sets of cattle about at least two times a week so we're going to be able to go through these steers at least twice a week to look at them and that's at a bare minimum and plus we go out in the pasture and we feed them you know each and every day so with three or four people handling the feed and chores around here we'll be able to get another good inspection on there too. We have more information from the Arizona Department of Agriculture on our website at Fox10Phoenix.com Reporting in Wickenburg, Megan Spector, Fox 10 News.