By Kay Ledbetter
Beef cattle producers who find or suspect New World screwworm, NWS, now have a user-friendly resource to help guide their next steps in the process.
Two Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service beef cattle specialists have developed a Field Guide for Beef Cattle Producers to walk operations through the detection, reporting, collection, submission, treatment and prevention process.
The document was compiled by AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialists in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science, Jason Smith, Ph.D., associate professor at the Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center at Canyon, and Jason Banta, Ph.D., professor at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton.
“We want to encourage producers to work directly with their veterinarian, who is best positioned to make informed recommendations for NWS treatment and prevention at the ranch level,” Smith said. “This field guide provides actionable information in an easy-to-understand form that can be used to complement that relationship and help guide producers through the process.”
The document is available online at AgriLife Extension’s centralized New World screwworm resource hub at https://tx.ag/screwworm. There, producers can access fact sheets, management guidance and the latest news to help Texans identify, prevent and respond to the pest.
Early detection is key
Start by closely evaluating individual animals daily or multiple times per week during periods of high risk, particularly soon after birth for calves or calving for cows, the experts said. This will help to minimize the number of animals impacted.
The guide walks producers through symptoms to look for and the most common locations of infestation on animals.
Source : tamu.edu