Uruguay: releases more than 25 million flies per week to combat livestock diseases | They will disperse them in the air from the planes

Uruguay about launch The national plan to eradicate the cuticle flywhich will consist of The release of between 25 and 30 million of these insects per week, In order to combat cattle worm. This parasite, which lays its eggs in animal wounds and its larvae devour meat, causes annual losses of more than 40 million dollars.

this action It will start in September 2023, It will cover all areas of the country where this plague is spreading and This will be done from south to north, with the aim of covering about 1,000 kilometers of the borders with Brazil and Argentina.

According to Fernando Matos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay, Cocoons will be purchased from those sterilized flieswhose presence in the environment will lead to an immediate reduction in the number of insects that cause injuries to productive animals and consequently losses in production, but also cause injuries to humans.

The flies will reach lower temperatures “at rest” in the country and in the labs they will “revive”.The minister explained, through a procedure in which they are exposed to room temperature.

The cocoons will be produced at a plant belonging to the United States and Panama Committee for the Eradication and Prevention of Livestock Screwworm (Copeg), located in Panama, which has the capacity to produce 100 million of these flies annually, and is the only plant in the world responsible for irradiating the flies to sterilize them, Matos said. and implement such plans.

Once the flies are ready to be released, A dispersal campaign will be carried out by aircraft And a machine, with its software, would work out how many flies would be dispersed per nautical mile per week.

Finally, the Uruguayan official pointed it out You will work with the aim of reducing the ‘risk’ of readmission to endemic areasHe concluded: “This is a technique that has been implemented long ago and that Over the past 60 years, it has accumulated experience and continuously improved operations“.