YEMEN: Screw worm outbreak hits livelihoods in central region

Photo: Adel Yahya/IRIN

Saleh Mohamed, 75, lost seven sheep and a camel to screw worm

SANAA, 29 September 2009 (IRIN) - A new outbreak of screw worm in Taiz, Ibb and Dhamar governorates in central Yemen has killed hundreds of livestock, particularly in Taiz’s Sharaab District where half the estimated 40,000 population depend on livestock for a living, local officials say.

Some 100-200 cows, sheep and goats died in the past two weeks in the villages of Mahmadan, al-Aridha, al-Ahtoub and Hajifa as a result of the outbreak, Anwar Abdullah, a local councillor in Taiz, told IRIN on 28 September. Dozens of cattle had also died in southern parts of Ibb Governorate, he said.

"I have lost my camel and seven sheep as vets didn't get to my village in time," said Saleh Mohammed, a 75-year-old herder from Ans District in Dhamar Governorate, who has four infected goats and one infected cow. "My neighbour was given insecticide for his infected cow but it didn't help save its life."

The screw worm fly lays its eggs in a cut or open wound on a warm-blooded animal. Maggots then feast off the living flesh, and can kill the animal if the wound is not cleaned and treated with insecticide in time.

“We clean the scratch on the animal’s body of maggots and blood and then apply insecticides to kill any remaining eggs,” Agriculture Ministry vet Hani Merai said, adding: “Early intervention is recommended to save the lives of infected animals.”

Another treatment technique - not yet tried in Yemen but successful in the USA and other countries - is called the sterile insect technique: Millions of male screw worm flies are bred and sterilized with radiation, then released into the wild.

Mohammed said infected goats were not producing normal quantities of milk. "It is also disgusting to slaughter an ailing ruminant and eat its meat,” he said.

Most animals survive if treated promptly, said Mansoor al-Qadasi, the government’s chief vet, based in Sanaa.

Photo: Adel Yahya/IRIN

Livestock farming is an important source of livelihood for about 30 percent of rural residents, who make up 71 percent of Yemen's 22-milion people

Free insecticide

Last month vets were dispatched to Taiz, Ibb and Hajja governorates (the latter 150km northwest of Sanaa) with free insectides, al-Qadasi told IRIN. The animal death toll in Hajja had been kept to about 20 thanks to prompt intervention, he added.

Since the first screw worm outbreak in 2007, over 20,000 livestock had been affected, but there had been relatively few deaths. "It takes more than a month for an infected animal to die… Early interventions by our department are keeping deaths to a minimum,” he said.

Prompter reporting of the disease by herders could have saved scores of cattle over the past few months, according to Taiz councillor Abdullah. "The Ministry often learns of new outbreaks only after it is too late to do anything about them," he said.

Screw worm outbreaks can jeopardize the livelihoods of farming communities, said Agriculture Ministry officials.

Livestock farming accounted for only 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Mohammed al-Ghashm, but it was an important source of livelihood for about 30 percent of rural residents who make up 71 percent of Yemen's 22-milion people.

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