logo
Sniffer dogs help Mexico fight the flesh-eating screwworm

Sniffer dogs help Mexico fight the flesh-eating screwworm

Reuters11-07-2025
TECAMAC, Mexico, July 11 (Reuters) - With tail wagging, tongue out and ears perked, Hummer - a young mixed breed dog with a slick black coat - sits down in front of a sample of screwworm scent, promptly accepting praise and treats from his handler.
Trained to detect the smell of screwworm, a flesh-eating pest that has infected Mexico's cattle herd and disrupted livestock trade with the United States, Hummer and his canine colleagues offer a glimmer of hope in controlling the worm.
At a government-run training center about an hour outside Mexico City, officials from a special unit of the country's health safety agency Senasica run a three-month intensive training program for a select group of dogs to sniff out screwworm and other pests or diseases in live animals or agricultural products.
Most of the dogs are rescued from shelters, allowing animals that may have been abandoned for being too difficult to find a new life. Feisty pups that steal food from the table, never calm down and have a relentless desire to play are the perfect candidates.
"Sometimes what people don't want is the ideal for us," said Cesar Dangu, head of the canine training center Ceacan. "We also have to look for other qualities: that they don't get angry, they are affectionate, they can live with people and with other animals."
Not all dogs respond to the aroma of screwworm, a pest that infests livestock and wildlife and carries maggots that burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.
Some dogs will refuse to approach the aroma, Dangu said, making those that take to it even more valuable in their task.
After cases started emerging in Mexico, the U.S. closed its southern border to imports of certain livestock, including cattle, in May before a gradual reopening began this week.
On Wednesday, however, the U.S. government once again closed the border to cattle after a new case of screwworm was detected in Veracruz state, about 370 miles (595 km) south of the U.S. border, a decision Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum called "exaggerated."
On a sunny afternoon at Ceacan, just hours after the border closure announcement, the work of the dogs took on new urgency.
There are only six screwworm-sniffing dogs working at a livestock border passage in the southern state of Chiapas, which borders Guatemala, the heart of Mexico's screwworm infestation.
Havana, a two-year-old Shepherd mix, practices detecting screwworm on cow-sized equipment inside a greenhouse, a training exercise meant to mimic the sweltering heat the dogs must tolerate in Chiapas, said instructor Mayte Tontle.
"We want our dogs to adapt as much as possible to the real-life conditions," Tontle said.
With at least 47 new cases of screwworm detected daily in Mexico, according to government data, the handful of highly trained canines are a small element of Mexico's response, which also includes a $51 million facility in Chiapas to produce sterile flies to reduce the reproducing population of the wild flies.
The plant, with a hefty $21 million investment from the U.S., is expected to be ready in the first half of 2026.
The dogs trained at Ceacan will work until they complete eight years on the job or turn 10 years old, whichever comes first.
After that, they retire.
"I would say 99% of the dogs are adopted by their handler. There is an unbreakable link because of the love between the handler and the dog," Dangu said.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

EXCLUSIVE Layton and Whitney spent years planning their dream honeymoon in Mexico. But then one small symptom quickly turned paradise into panic
EXCLUSIVE Layton and Whitney spent years planning their dream honeymoon in Mexico. But then one small symptom quickly turned paradise into panic

Daily Mail​

time5 days ago

  • Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE Layton and Whitney spent years planning their dream honeymoon in Mexico. But then one small symptom quickly turned paradise into panic

A newlywed has spent weeks in an intensive care unit in Mexico after he began experiencing intense stomach pains on his honeymoon. Layton, 29, and Whitney McCann, 30, were married on April 5 and spent months planning the honeymoon of their dreams in the United States and Mexico. Mr McCann, a schoolteacher, and Mrs McCann, a hair salon owner, left Geelong, Victoria, and flew to Playa Del Carmen after two weeks in the US. However, just days after arriving in the coastal resort town, Mr McCann began experiencing intense abdominal pain. Mrs McCann's sister, Bronte Holland, said the situation escalated quickly. 'The hotel they were staying at had a doctor so they called the doctor into the room,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'He gave Layton something and then left. My sister called the doctor back after 10 minutes because he was really not well. 'They sent him to hospital and he's been there now for nearly two weeks.' Tests revealed Mr McCann had contracted an infection that led to pancreatitis and he was rushed to the closest intensive care unit. His mother and mother-in-law arrived in Mexico on Sunday, with Mr McCann put in an induced coma and on a ventilator the following day. 'They're not sure what caused it,' Ms Holland said. 'It could've been the food or the alcohol that he was having on his honeymoon but something has triggered this infection. 'The pancreas was all inflamed and it started to die, so they've put him in a coma.' The family, who are facing a language barrier, considered medically evacuating Mr McCann home to Australia, but he is currently too unstable to travel. 'Layton's whole body swelled up, all his face was swollen,' Ms Holland said. 'I'm a nurse and, from what my sister's telling me, they're doing a really good job taking care of him. They've been checking his bloods, doing CT scans every day. 'My sister's travel insurance also set up a doctor in Australia she can liaise with. Everything's just extra stressful because of the language barrier.' Mr McCann's deterioration has left his family members rattled. 'He's an avid cricket player. He's part of the North Geelong cricket club and he runs every day,' Ms Holland said. 'He's very physically active and a healthy young bloke.' While the couple's medical bills are being covered by their travel insurance, they still face several ongoing costs. On top of accommodation and additional flights, Mrs McCann runs her own business and loses income each day she misses work. Ms Holland has created a GoFundMe to help relieve some of the financial pressure. 'Everyone's stressed and everyone's a mess,' she said. 'It's just so sad, they only just got married. They should be having the time of their lives on their honeymoon, this is not how it's supposed to go.

Coca-Cola to launch Coke with cane sugar after Trump claims credit
Coca-Cola to launch Coke with cane sugar after Trump claims credit

The Guardian

time6 days ago

  • The Guardian

Coca-Cola to launch Coke with cane sugar after Trump claims credit

Coca-Cola has laid out plans to launch a product made with US cane sugar this year, days after Donald Trump claimed the company had agreed to replace high-fructose corn syrup. The announcement came Tuesday in Coca-Cola's earnings report. It confirmed a 16 July post on Trump's Truth Social platform in which the president said Coca-Cola 'agreed' to use 'REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States'. 'This will be a very good move by them – You'll see,' Trump's post said. 'It's just better!' The drink maker's Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar and already sold in the US. Tuesday's announcement from Coca-Cola came as food and drink companies have rolled out plans to make changes amid US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's Make America healthy again (Maha) campaign. However, experts say that drinks made with cane sugar instead of corn syrup aren't healthier. Eva Greenthal, senior policy scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, previously told CNN: 'Excess consumption of sugar from any source harms health. To make the US food supply healthier, the Trump administration should focus on less sugar, not different sugar.' Coca-Cola chairperson and chief executive officer James Quincey said Tuesday's announcement was meant to 'reflect consumer interest in differentiated experiences'. 'We appreciate the president's enthusiasm for our Coca-Cola brand,' Quincey said in a conference call with investors. 'This addition is designed to complement our strong core portfolio and offer more choice across occasions and preferences.' The Associated Press and Reuters contributed

3 Democrat-led states have rolled back Medicaid access for people lacking permanent legal status
3 Democrat-led states have rolled back Medicaid access for people lacking permanent legal status

The Independent

time6 days ago

  • The Independent

3 Democrat-led states have rolled back Medicaid access for people lacking permanent legal status

For nearly 20 years, Maria would call her sister — a nurse in Mexico — for advice on how to manage her asthma and control her husband's diabetes instead of going to the doctor in California. She didn't have legal status, so she couldn't get health insurance and skipped routine exams, relying instead on home remedies and, at times, getting inhalers from Mexico. She insisted on using only her first name for fear of deportation. Things changed for Maria and many others in recent years when a handful of Democrat-led states opened up their health insurance programs to low-income immigrants regardless of their legal status. Maria and her husband signed up the day the program began last year. 'It changed immensely, like from Earth to the heavens,' Maria said in Spanish of Medi-Cal, California's Medicaid program. 'Having the peace of mind of getting insurance leads me to getting sick less.' At least seven states and the District of Columbia have offered coverage for immigrants since mostly 2020. But three of them have done an about-face, ending or limiting coverage for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who aren't in the U.S. legally in California, Illinois and Minnesota. The programs cost way more than officials had projected at a time when the states are facing multibillion-dollar deficits now and in the future. In Illinois, adult immigrants ages 42-64 without legal status have lost their health care to save an estimated $404 million. All adult immigrants in Minnesota no longer have access to the state program, saving nearly $57 million. In California, no one will automatically lose coverage, but new enrollments for adults will stop in 2026 to save more than $3 billion over several years. Cuts in all three states were backed by Democratic governors who once championed expanding health coverage to immigrants. The Trump administration this week shared the home addresses, ethnicities and personal data of all Medicaid recipients with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Twenty states, including California, Illinois and Minnesota, have sued. Health care providers told The Associated Press that everything, especially the fear of being arrested or deported, is having a chilling effect on people seeking care. And states may have to spend more money down the road because immigrants will avoid preventive health care and end up needing to go to safety-net hospitals. 'I feel like they continue to squeeze you more and more to the point where you'll burst,' Maria said, referencing all the uncertainties for people who are in the U.S. without legal permission. ' People are going to die' People who run free and community health clinics in California and Minnesota said patients who got on state Medicaid programs received knee replacements and heart procedures, and were diagnosed for serious conditions like late-stage cancer. CommunityHealth is one of the nation's largest free clinics, serving many uninsured and underinsured immigrants in the Chicago area who have no other options for treatment. That includes the people who lost coverage July 1 when Illinois ended its Health Benefits for Immigrants Adults Program, which served about 31,500 people ages 42-64. One of CommunityHealth's community outreach workers and care coordinator said Eastern European patients she works with started coming in with questions about what the change meant for them. She said many of the patients also don't speak English and don't have transportation to get to clinics that can treat them. The worker spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to protect patients' privacy. HealthFinders Collaborative in Minnesota's rural Rice and Steele counties south of Minneapolis serves low-income and underinsured patients, including large populations of Latino immigrants and Somali refugees. Executive director Charlie Mandile said they're seeing patients rushing to squeeze in appointments and procedures before 19,000 people age 18 and older are kicked off of insurance at the end of the year. Free and community health clinics in all three states say they will keep serving patients regardless of insurance coverage — but that might get harder after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decided this month to restrict federally qualified health centers from treating people without legal status. CommunityHealth CEO Stephanie Willding said she always worried about the stability of the program because it was fully state funded, 'but truthfully, we thought that day was much, much further away.' 'People are going to die. Some people are going to go untreated,' Alicia Hardy, chief executive officer of CommuniCARE+OLE clinics in California, said of the state's Medicaid changes. 'It's hard to see the humanity in the decision-making that's happening right now.' A spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Human Services said ending the state's program will decrease MinnesotaCare spending in the short term, but she acknowledged health care costs would rise elsewhere, including uncompensated care at hospitals. Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a Republican, said the state's program was not sustainable. 'It wasn't about trying to be non-compassionate or not caring about people," she said. "When we looked at the state budget, the dollars were not there to support what was passed and what was being spent.' Demuth also noted that children will still have coverage, and adults lacking permanent legal status can buy private health insurance. Health care providers also are worried that preventable conditions will go unmanaged, and people will avoid care until they end up in emergency rooms – where care will be available under federal law. One of those safety-net public hospitals, Cook County Health in Chicago, treated about 8,000 patients from Illinois' program last year. Dr. Erik Mikaitis, the health system's CEO, said doing so brought in $111 million in revenue. But he anticipated other providers who billed through the program could close, he said, adding: 'Things can become unstable very quickly.' Monthly fees, federal policies create barriers State lawmakers said California's Medi-Cal changes stem from budget issues — a $12 billion deficit this year, with larger ones projected ahead. Democratic state leaders last month agreed to stop new enrollment starting in 2026 for all low-income adults without legal status. Those under 60 remaining on the program will have to pay a $30 monthly fee in 2027. States are also bracing for impact from federal policies. Cuts to Medicaid and other programs in the recently signed massive tax and spending bill include a 10% cut to the federal share of Medicaid expansion costs to states that offer health benefits to immigrants starting October 2027. California health officials estimate roughly 200,000 people will lose coverage after the first full year of restricted enrollment, though Gov. Gavin Newsom maintains that even with the rollbacks, California provides the most expansive health care coverage for poor adults. Every new bill requires a shift in Maria's monthly calculations to make ends meet. She believes many people won't be able to afford the $30-a-month premiums and will instead go back to self-medication or skip treatment altogether. 'It was a total triumph,' she said of Medi-Cal expansion. 'But now that all of this is coming our way, we're going backwards to a worse place.' Fear and tension about immigration raids are changing patient behavior, too. Providers told the AP that, as immigration raids ramped up, their patients were requesting more virtual appointments, not showing up to routine doctor's visits and not picking up prescriptions for their chronic conditions. Maria has the option to keep her coverage. But she is weighing the health of her family against risking what they've built in the U.S. 'It's going to be very difficult,' Maria said of her decision to remain on the program. 'If it comes to the point where my husband gets sick and his life is at risk, well then, obviously, we have to choose his life.' ___ This story has been corrected to show that the community health center in Minnesota is named HealthFinders Collaborative, and that the state agency the spokeswoman works for is the Minnesota Department of Human Services. ___ Associated Press journalist Godofredo Vasquez in San Francisco contributed to this report. Shastri reported from Milwaukee. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store