Imported Dog Diagnosed With Screwworm

A 16-year-old dog who had been imported from Trinidad and Tobago into the United States was diagnosed with New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) on Sept. 20, 2007. The outbreak was in Hancock, Miss.

At press time, the dog had been treated but remained under quarantine.

Control measures included movement control inside the United States; quarantine; disinfection of infected premises and transport equipment; and treatment of infected animal, including extraction and destruction of larvae followed with flushing with nolvasan and Catron spray (a topical insecticide indicated for screwworm and ear ticks) followed with oral Capstar (nitenpyram).

The last detection of screwworm in a dog was in 1997 when screwworm larvae were detected on a dog shipped to San Antonio, Tex., from a military base in Panama. Because appropriate measures were taken, the outbreak did not spread.