New World Screwworm gets a lot of attention in the cattle industry, but that’s not the only animal agriculture sector that needs to stay vigilant. Dr. Justin Talley of Oklahoma State University’s Entomology Department talked about NWS and pork production.
“So, when we think about the New World Screwworm, it’s not a big risk for commercial swine because, in the commercial sector, there are a lot of eyes on those animals, and it’s very much contained within a vertical industry structure.”
However, that doesn’t mean pork producers shouldn’t pay close attention.
“Where we’re concerned about is like our swine breeders that are producing livestock for the show pig industry. There’s a higher risk with that because, one, they’re outside, which creates access for the fly. Two, some injuries can occur due to outside pens and other things that can make it conducive for the fly to come in and impact that type of sector.”
He said Oklahoma State University is researching ways to battle animal diseases, including African Swine Fever.
“So, some of the research we’ve done with the support of the Oklahoma Pork Council is that, when we think about some projects, it’s about preparedness and prevention. And one of those projects is if we have to manage animal mortality. So, in the case that African Swine Fever does arrive, and we have to depopulate a herd to stop that transmission, what are some strategies, mitigation strategies? And one project that we did, we showed that if you do what we call modified burial with some of what we call carbon resource, it could be wood shavings or other type of carbon material, and getting a cover over those animals in a timely manner reduces the risk of transmitting that virus.”