DENVER, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado is taking steps to try to prevent the outbreak of the new world screwworm as cases continue to be confirmed in Colorado's bordering states of New Mexico and Texas.
A total of seven cases have been confirmed in the United States, with six cases being in cattle & goats in Texas and a dog in Lea County, New Mexico, on June 8.
For those unfamiliar, the New World screwworm parasitic fly larvae feed on the living tissue of animals. In the fly stage of their life cycle, they lay their eggs in open wounds. The larvae then burrow into the animal, causing tissue infection and myiasis.
On Thursday, the Colorado Department of Agriculture stated that the Colorado State Veterinarian proposed and the Commissioner of Agriculture adopted an emergency rule to try to curb the spread of the bug.
The new rules will require animals moving from the NWS-infested zones to follow certain protocols. The United States Department of Agriculture defines the "Infested Zone" as a 20 km (12-mile) radius from confirmed detections. You can find more information about the detection areas below.
Under the new rules, any warm-blooded animals, including pets, must abide by the following rules:
- Enter Colorado only with approval and a certificate for movement from the state animal health officials in the state of origin. This certificate for movement must indicate that the animals have met all established movement requirements for leaving the infested zone.
- The movement certificate must be attached to and submitted with the certificate of veterinary inspection to the Colorado State Veterinarian.
- Be inspected by a licensed and accredited veterinarian, state/federal health official, or by a state-authorized inspector within 5 days prior to movement.
- Be treated with an authorized product within 14 days before movement (or within the product’s labeled prevention duration) if found to have open wounds without presence of myiasis. Animals going directly to slaughter are exempt from treatment, but must be slaughtered within 72 hours of movement.
- Request an entry permit number from the Colorado State Veterinarian’s Office within 48 hours prior to movement. Movement may not occur until the entry permit is issued. Entry permits may be obtained by calling the Office of the Colorado State Veterinarian at 303-869-9130 during normal business hours.
- Enter Colorado only after all other standard species-specific interstate movement requirements have been met as established on CDA Import Webpage.
- All animals arriving in Colorado from an NWS Infested zone, after meeting the requirements above, must be inspected upon arrival at the destination premises by a licensed and accredited veterinarian, state/federal animal health official, or other state-authorized inspector.
- Animals coming out of an NWS infested zone may not move into Colorado with eeCVIs (extended equine certificates of veterinary inspection) or on commuter agreements. Those animals must move on a standard CVI for movement, along with the required NWS movement certificate outlined above.
- All dogs and cats entering Colorado from a state with an active NWS Infested Zone must be inspected by a veterinarian and have a CVI issued within 5 days prior to movement into Colorado. The CVI must include the statement “all animals were inspected and found free of evidence of NWS infestation”.
The state says that anyone violating these rules will be subject to an order to return the animals in question or receive a quarantine order for the animals.
The order will run from June 10 to October 8. News5 will continue to monitor this situation and its impacts across Colorado as a busy rodeo season and animals and competitors from across the country and world flock to Colorado, and it is set to kick off with the Greeley Stampede on June 24.
Is this outbreak impacting you? Let us know how.
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