RVETS

Gusano barrenador YIKES!
Gusanos barrenadores, aka “Screw Worm”, aka Cochliomyia hominivorax is one of a host of flies whose larvae (aka maggots) live in tissues on live animals. You can actually buy sterile maggots to debride dead skin and muscle in a variety of species, including humans. However, the operative word here is “dead” (!) .
While a number of flies will lay eggs on dead skin, which will turn into disgusting maggots munching away on the devitalized, necrotic tissues surrounding a wound, C. hominivorax is unique in the “New World” in that it will eat into living, bleeding, sensitive tissue if it can get through the skin. At one time, this was a huge problem in the southern USA, particularly Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. Cattle, horses, or mules that got wounded in many of the ways that they do, would end up with huge infestations of maggots eating away parts of their bodies. A cowboy in west Texas would spend his days in the saddle looking for calves with screw worm infestations, rope them, and treat with various mixtures to kill the maggots before they killed and consumed the entire calf.
For many years international treaties and work by USAID kept the screw worm plague isolated to the most tropical and remote of Latin American countries. However, as the climate changes (and, YES, it does…!) and funding for disease surveillance has been cut (and, YES , it has….!) these nasty critters are moving North! They are currently in Central America, several States in México, and one county in south Texas. This should be of deep concern for people who care about animal welfare and health, but human health and welfare too.
People DO get screw worm infestations, especially children, and even if they don’t, these parasites do horrible things to livestock production, poor folk’s family incomes, and the ability of hard-working draft animals to do their jobs. Right now, RVETS México are up in the Sierra Gorda dealing with los gusanos barrenadores. This picture may be a little gross, but those holes in the sheath of this c**t were drilled by screw worm larvae, after they found tiny cracks in the skin. They are deep and had our team not been there to remove them, and treat the area, they could have done a great deal of damage to the fo****in, p***s, and other important organs. The samples of maggots taken will go to the Guanajuato State lab to prove that the parasites are there.
RVETS México will continue to help with screw worm surveillance and research methods to treat and prevent the infestations. There has always been plenty to do, but when new challenges arise we will take them on!

RVETS Providing quality veterinary care and education to underserved rural communities worldwide. Join our mission at rvets.org

"The Blackfeet Community College USDA Extension Program would like to extend our sincere appreciation to everyone who helped make the Hoof Care and Trimming event a success"!!!! That's the news from Montana. That is RVETS' Tarek Isham DVM on the left with the chaps. He and Jamie White DVM had been at Blackfeet doing veterinary work and teaching hoof anatomy and trimming techniques. Great job Tarek! The fellow in the middle, who I have yet to meet, is a "disabled" veteran, who works as a farrier, despite having lost a leg for his country. THAT is impressive! RVETS will be continuing this program, and extending it to other reservations. This is the sort of thing that gives one hope for the future.....e