According to the report of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Maga), The presence of the boreride worm of the cattle has spread outside the main livestock zone in the country. Huehuetenango is, until now, the only department that does not record cases.
The magician report, with a cut to June 22, It indicates an accumulated of one thousand 353 cases in cattle. In addition, five thousand 339 animals have been inspected and two thousand 514 has been treated.
At the discretion of Diego Armando Medina Arellano, veterinarian and entomologist, the number of cases reported by the magician is low, as well as that of inspected animals. This, he affirms, evidences the “little epidemiological surveillance” that is carried out in the country, since it considers that the fly is present throughout the national territory.
“The Maga started too late the health education program. The liberation of sterile flies represents only 40% of the control and eradication strategy,” he says. Therefore, recommends improving the report protocol.
In humans
The boreride worm also affects humans. In this sense, the report of the Ministry of Health indicates that, between May 9 – when the first infested person was announced – and on June 21, 20 Guatemalans has been identified with myiasis caused by the Larva de la Mosca Cochliomyia Hominivorax. So far, six departments present cases: Chiquimula, Jutiapa, Suchitepéquez, Santa Rosa, Quiché and Jalapa. The first two concentrate 65% of patients.
The National Health Laboratory has prosecuted 36 samples, of which 55.6% was positive. Among those affected are two children under 9 years, five people between 25 and 49, another five between 50 and 59 years old, and eight over 60. All have recovered and deaths are not reported.
The first case reported in humans in Guatemala was that of an 86 -year -old man with diabetes. The victim suffered a blow to the head, the product of a fall. The wound was exposed, and there the fly spawned.
According to the Ministry of Health, Cochliomyia Hominivorax deposits its eggs in living tissue or in open -blooded animals, commonly in cattle, although it can also affect people.
The eggs hatch between two and four days, a process that can be accelerated by climatic conditions. The larvae – parasitic gusans— They with the host tissue and cause myiasis.
Therefore, the portfolio recommends maintaining hygiene in skin wounds and covering them with gauze, to prevent ovipiposite flies from. Care should be taken in young children, older people with disabilities and patients with diabetes. It is also advisable to avoid contact with animals infested with the boreride of cattle.
Also in pets
Pets are also exposed to be affected by the boreride of cattle. The Maga, through the Animal Welfare Unit (UBA), He has registered 336 cases in dogs, 15 in cats and five in birds with myiasis.
One of the cases detected in dogs was reported in the west of the country. On June 11, Sergio Herrera, epidemiologist of the Maga Delegation, informed that the animal had stayed on the south coast and then was transferred to Momostenango, Totonicapán.
Herrera explained that the transmitter fly usually reproduces in places with temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius, and with a relative humidity of between 30% and 70%; Therefore, it is not ruled out that the dog has been infected on the southern coast.
Actions
The magician informs that, to contain the propagation of the boreride of cattle, it maintains inspection and control in different parts of the country: San Luis, Entre Ríos and La Libertad (Petén); Puerto Barrios, Cocoa Frontera and Modesto Méndez (Izabal).
In addition, it has trained 304 people for the detection of cases, make visits to the productive units, offers training to farmers, carriers and field personnel, and inspects vehicles that move cattle. Also lIbera sterile flies in infested areas, in order to avoid its proliferation.
When a case of myiasis caused by the boreride worm is identified, the magician attends the animal’s wounds and gives kits to the owners to continue healing.
Likewise, the DSA GT application to notify cases. It is compatible with the Android and iPhone systems, and allows photographs and sharing georeferenced location so that ministry technicians reach the place and follow up.
The app displays a menu with icons that represent the animal species that can be reported, and allows to point out the suspicious clinical signs observed in the individual.
“All cases are recoverable, and the consumption of meat and milk – from animals affected by the boreride worm – is not harmful,” says the magician.