If you live with a dog in southeastern Arizona, start checking its skin for open wounds every evening. New World screwworm, a fly whose maggots eat living tissue, has turned up in Arizona for the first time. The first animal found with it is a dog in Cochise County.
USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the case on October 28. According to the Arizona Department of Agriculture (AZDA), a local vet examined the dog on the evening of October 26. The vet found a wound on its back heavily infested with maggots, and the dog is now under veterinary care.
The infested zone in Cochise County
APHIS is setting up an infested zone of 20 km, about 12 miles, around the case. Animal movements inside it will be controlled. The agency is also adding surveillance and fly traps, and reaching out to local vets, ranchers and residents.
Sterile fly releases are on the federal list of steps, though AZDA's release says only that the state has asked for them. Plans for a sterile fly dispersal facility in Douglas are still going ahead.
Neither release says where the zone's edge falls or whether its movement controls cover pets as well as livestock. If you need to take a dog out of the area, call AZDA before you go rather than after.
Where the dog picked it up
AZDA is still gathering details from the owner and the vet, and they will guide any further investigation. Nothing released so far says whether the dog had traveled recently.
Daily checks and who to call
USDA asks owners in the area to look their animals over every day for:
- wounds that drain or keep getting bigger
- maggots or egg masses in a wound
- signs of discomfort or irritability
- sores around the ears, nose, genitals or navel
Because the Arizona dog's wound was on its back, part the fur along the spine as well as checking the legs, chest and belly. A sore there is easy to miss under a thick coat.
To report a suspected case in Arizona, call 602-542-4293 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. You can also email diseasereporting@azda.gov. Outside those hours, call your vet.
Hunters who see a wild animal with an infested wound should call the Arizona Game and Fish Department at 623-236-7201. Write down the GPS location before you leave.
Our take
Inspect animals in your care every day and contact a veterinarian promptly if you find a draining or enlarging wound, maggots, or egg masses. Report suspected cases to AZDA during business hours. The investigation is still underway; the confirmed case does not establish where the dog became infested.
