The New World Screwworm: What do Showpig people need to know?

In this episode, Carrie sits down with Colby Ferguson, excutive direction of the Texas Pork Producers to discuss the current status of the New World Screwworm fly, its impact on livestock, and best practices for prevention and control, especially in the swine industry. This discussion provides simple insights on signs, symptoms, and resources for producers and showpig exhibitors in a practical sense.

Resources: 

www.texaspork.org

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Well, welcome to this episode of uh Show Pig Central, and today um I have with me a special guest, uh, Mr. Colby Ferguson. He is the executive director of the Texas Pork Producers. And um I just wanted to ask Colby kind of some of the main highlight points of the um New World Screwworm that our industry and uh producers are facing now in Texas. Um and so basically just kind of wanted to hit the highlights, you know, what are the the three big things that uh Texas wine producers need to be concerned about?

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Sure. Um I guess I'll start with like the the thing that we say the most is that this is not a meat safety issue. Um we're literally here at Texas AM and just went through their um uh meat science department talking about mandatory inspection during slaughter and all that. So these animals are looked at by the inspector um before before processing, during and after. And so the likelihood of an animal going through that whole process with an infec with an infestation is not gonna happen. So we're not going to have the pest end up in our meat supply. So that's like first and foremost. That's kind of really the thing that I would really want to make sure everybody is when they're talking to their consumer or their buyer or whatnot, just let them know that hey, this is not a this is not a meat safety problem. Um number two, this really isn't a swine problem. Okay, we're not in the we're not in the the kind of the crosshairs of this fly. Um the the pasture-raised animals like cattle and and wildlife is really the ones that are most susceptible because they're out 24-7. Um now, can your can pigs get it? Absolutely. Humans can get it, dogs and cats can get it. Um all warm-blooded animals can get it. So, and it's not it's not an um a disease, it's not shared nose to nose like swine flu or something like that. Uh it's a pest, it's a fly that lays eggs and creates a larva that burrows into the skin. Um so that would be my third thing is is that um Dr. Dingis, who's our state fed here in Texas, um his set he he says all the time, he says the best thing we can put on our animals is our eyes. Um Visual daily surveillance of your animals, making sure do you see any wounds? Did did you create one through castration or ear tagging or ear notching of baby pigs? Did you have a brand new litter last night? Um doing what you need to do to make sure that wound is kept clean. Um if you're having if you're ferrowing out sows like we are right now, those baby pigs, as soon as they're born, you know, doing all those things, whether you're dri using the dry products to dry those nails, you're dipping them with iodine, whatever, to get that navel to shrivel up and and dry up as fast as possible to take away that open wound of that baby pig. Um honestly, right now, uh the cases that we have in the state of Texas, um, almost all of them are navel uh navel infections on baby baby calves and and goats. And so that's where this thing loves. It's it's going after those babies. And so um, so yeah, taking care of yours, and right now we're in the you know, in the heart of pig farrowing season in the show pig industry. So um just being diligent with that, uh taking care of those wounds, um, you know, putting a spray cover on them, uh, talk with your veterinarian. If you don't know what to use, I mean most of us take our show pigs to a vet to have them castrated anyway, um, and just ask them, like, hey, what do I keep on this until this thing scabs over? Because it, you know, it's gonna take a week or so, and if they swell up and all that kind of stuff that goes along with with that. Same thing with surgeries for a retained testicle or something like that. Um, uh a navel, a navel rupture or something that you get tra get changed. So um, but as a producer, um, it's not a problem in the swine industry, and we're just trying to keep it from becoming one.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

Yeah. Well, and I thought it was interesting what you said. Uh, we were talking a little bit before um we started the episode about that you don't want it to get to the point to where you see larvae in the wound. So, you know, maybe just kind of what are some of the signs and symptoms of that.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

So um, you know, uh people have seen maggots before, fly maggots. You normally it's not in a in a live animal, it's usually in like some uh an old feed bag or a wet feed that that ended up in you, you like move and all of a sudden you see these little squirmy larvae, and that's just regular barn flies. Um that's not what we're talking about, those types of maggots. We're talking about an actual uh flesh-eating maggot that goes into the into the wound and starts eating its way until it's ready to drop out and become a another fly. And then the problem of it is it leaves a really bad smell. So if you start smelling rotted flesh, rotted meat, death death type smell, then that's your first, I mean, you you've got a problem. So don't ever let it get to that problem. But if you have, like you we were talking about, you had a dog that's got like a spot on its on its neck, you know, just as long as that is looks clean, you're keeping it clean, you're not seeing it getting red and swollen, you're not seeing an elevated temperature in the animal, so there's no infection started, then you're pretty much all right. Um the goal is just to keep it that way until it dries up. So, you know, if you have staph break out on um on the back of your pig or dippy pig or you sunburn the pig as you're trying to tan, you left them out a little too long, and you create those creases, the quicker you can get that dried up and scabbed over, the less chance that that fly is going to find that spot. So, yeah, you're just it's all preventative maintenance.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

Well, and another thing that you said that I thought was really interesting is um it's not like the normal, you know, swarms of flies that we see in the barn, you know, and I think that's where like we've had some customers contact us and they're like really nervous about it, but it's not a typical barn fly. Talk a little bit about what you mean there.

SPEAKER_00 6:20

Yeah, so uh we all have had we all have flies probably right now. I mean it's hot and and we're getting moisture and we're getting rain and whatnot, and so the flies are coming out and you go out and you feed you slop your pigs and you forget to pull the pans, and next thing you know, you got a thousand flies all eating on that. And that's not the fly we're talking about. That's just a regular barn fly. Now, you want to still maintain those because one thing that they do, if you're not careful, particularly biting flies, is they could actually we've had pigs where you get them, they'll have the little bite the bite marks on the bumps that come up on their back where they get, and that creates a wound. And that's that's how small this wound can be that that that that um she can still lay eggs in that. So she's a little different, she being the the the New World screw worm fly. Uh very recluse, very uh standoffish, doesn't really um she's not staying in in barns and buildings, um, she's more out um in trees and brush and stuff like that, um, under trees and stuff. So that's why it's more susceptible to animals outside. So if you do have livestock that you let's say you put your you have sow pins and they're out underneath trees, and I know down in South Texas it's hot and you're trying to find ways to keep them cool, those are the ones you want to keep a close eye on because they are actually could be potentially exposed. Those ones that are in the barn, under fans, in shavings, um, on you know, wood chips, whatnot, whatnot, you're probably not gonna have the problem in there. It's gonna be those ones that are outside because those flies really they don't associate with other flies.

SPEAKER_01 7:58

Okay, no, that's good to know. And I know that the TPPA put out a really good resource page on their website. Um tell me a little bit about that. I I got to glance through it real quickly, and I'll have Josh put that on the B-roll to show everybody.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

So Yeah, so you know, we were getting some calls from people, you know, because this is really kind of a cattle-centric thing, and there's tons of information on cattle and what to do with your calves, and and um, you know, the cattle raisers have done a great job of really talking with their ranchers and stuff, but there really isn't a lot of information for swine because we're not the primary emphasis here. Um so one thing that uh we started to see was it's like there's just really nothing out there, and so I'm in the middle of this thing on a daily calls, and I'm trying to glean a little bit of information here and there, and so what we ended up doing working with so Riley basically went into the system and um into our and our website, stood up a um a section that has a link right on the front page with just resources. Um, so if you have no idea what we're talking about, there's a resource on what is the New World Screwworm fly. Um if you're like, hey, I'm small, I've got like five Sows, or I'm or we just kept a couple of GITs and we're faring them out. I don't have a veterinarian that I work with. There is a find a vet link on there. So if you you just type you put in Texas, your county, uh cred, you know, a category two vet's what you need, um, and it will show you every count uh every veterinarian in your county. Okay. So you might be in a small, very rural county and it comes up with none. Just pick the counties around you that you could use. Um I did that with the county I'm in and then nothing came up, but then I put in Parker County and four came up. So but they're gonna be horse, there's probably gonna be horse vets in my horse country, and you're gonna have that. So all those large animal vets are gonna have good knowledge to use. And and really all you're asking for is what can I use? Um what do I look for? Um, how do I keep it from from getting it?

SPEAKER_01 10:03

Yeah, now that's what I had text Dr. Gleason this week, because like you said, everybody's feroin, we all have tons of babies, and I said, you know, what do we need to do anything different besides iodine and the seco's orb that we use the drying agent? He was like, no, that's good, just keep an eye on everything. Um so definitely reach out to your vets if you have questions there. Uh and then the extension service put out a really good, I think it's a couple page um uh informational piece about this as well. It was talking about, you know, if you use the um the what are the docking to dock the tails and it's yeah, that that actually carterizes it and that helps seal the wound. Um so just little things like that. And and I know, like I said, our customers they were really concerned because they're fixing to get their bears um castrated. And one thing I read, I know San Antonio put out is it said do not over overdo um kind of a from a proactive standpoint, don't treat too much. Yep, you know, um because you could run into some different issues there if you try to over-treat this if you don't have a problem.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

Yeah, less is more in most cases. And um I tell you a practice I think if I was if if we were still showing, if my kids were still showing, that that would be a practice I would use. Um we're do you you commonly you typically deworm once a month on show pigs. Now, this is not producer side, this is more the show pig side. Um we buy the pigs, we get them on feed, um, and then we get to that time where we're ready to get bearers cast or boar pigs castrated. What I would recommend is I would give a shot of Dectamax that either the day of or the day before I do have the castration. You can and if you're taking them to the vet, just say, hey, can you give them a shot of Dectamax? And what that's gonna do, Dectamax is, from what we're hearing, is the best anti-larva issue. It it does the best job from the inside out. So, like if you're doing everything you possibly can to keep that wound clean and you just miss it, you know, she comes in at midnight and you're asleep and she lays her eggs on your pig. Um, that is going to, when those larvae hatch and go into that skin, into that infection, it'll kill them instantly, and you've just fixed the problem.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

So it's kind of like it's kind of like a little bit of life insurance there. It's kind of like I'm gonna go ahead and put this in now, preventative, it's almost like a vaccination, and we're just in case we get it. But I would not do it every month. I would do it only when I know I'm gonna create a wound on my animal, which could be maybe castration, um, validation, putting, you know, going, taking them, having the validation tag put in their ear. Um, and then really outside of that, if I have one that gets the dippy pig, uh gets the staph infection on their back, and I open up a wound, I'd probably give a shot of Dectamax while I'm at it. And that's gonna take care of mites and mange. Um, you're gonna take care of any um possibly parasites that you're trying to pick intestinal parasites as well. So it's a kind of a catch-all for, yeah, it's a well I'm talking about it for New World Screwworm prevention, but it's also got characteristics that are your typical use anyway.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

Absolutely, yeah. And and Camlin and I are gonna do a session tomorrow with the kids here at the pork producers um uh youth deal about skin and hair, and we will talk a lot about about many and white because it's hard. It's something that a lot of people are fighting um everywhere. So um, okay, well, great. Well that's um I appreciate you sitting down with us. We just kind of wanted a you know, real broadcast.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

I would say one last thing is is that it's June and we're at the beginning. And this this didn't get here overnight, and unfortunately, it's not gonna be gone overnight. Um this thing really is probably gonna continue to kind of kind of spread a little bit here and there, and they're gonna be a positive case here and a positive case there all summer. And so this is not something that so we're gonna get into pig sales season and you're gonna start buying pigs. Just be vigilant of where you live, are you in an infested zone or you're not, are you gonna buy pigs from somebody that's in an infested zone or not? Because there are going to be movement restrictions on getting those. And then when we get into the fall and we start talking about jackpots and stuff like that, there's gonna be some issues there. So, like um be vigilant of of you know where this is, what what's happened, and make sure you find out first before you decide to load up in the trailer and go somewhere and find out that oh, I probably shouldn't have done that. Um, so this is gonna be a long-term deal, so don't think that oh, I don't have summertime barrows on feed, I'm not going to state fairs, so it's not gonna be a problem. This will probably still be a problem October, November, too.

SPEAKER_01 14:45

So, but so real quick on that, an infestation zone and a quarantine zone, too. It's the same thing. It's the same thing, okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:53

Yeah, so they don't really call it a quarantine zone because technically they're not quarantined, they can still you can still get a permit to get out.

SPEAKER_01 15:01

That was actually on the Houston News on their Facebook today, and I saw a quarantine and I was like, man, I haven't heard that.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

We really try not to, I mean, technically, that's some government jargon that has to be done, but but technically it is what we call an infested zone, which is a declaration by the state veterinarian, Dr. Dingis, saying that hey, this uh this area has had a positive case, and we feel very comfortable that there are um female uh flies in this region. This wasn't just uh like the New Mexico case that with the dog um that came from Mexico, and they're they're they're fairly certain that that was a case, that was a movement case where the dog got um infected in Mexico and came there. And so that's considered an isolated case. So that's different than what's going on in like Zavala County and whatnot. Um so yeah, the infested zones slash quarantine zone mean the same thing, and it just means you've got an extra couple of layers of of uh movement restrictions that you have to pass before you can leave.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

But they are still that you can still leave, you just have to be inspected in the city.

SPEAKER_00 16:08

Yeah, there's there's cattle people in Zavala County that are that got their you know, their animals got looked at by the by the uh by Texas Animal Health Commission, they got their uh certificate and they're able to go to the stock to the to auction barn or to wherever they need to go.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

Great. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

So it's mainly just uh we don't want to move anything that's infected out of that zone.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yeah, yeah. No, makes sense for sure. So okay, well, hopefully we won't have to have a follow-up on anything about that um down the road. Um, but no, I appreciate you setting down and just kind of going over some of this with us. Um, like you said, there's not a ton of information on the swine side. Um and we will share those resources on the TPPA website and then the extension piece that they put out today as well. So um we uh yeah, again, thank you uh for joining us and um catch us another episode of Showpick Central. Thanks.