SAN SALVADOR, Sept 1 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Abandoned dogs in El Salvador are a serious problem, hosting the screwworm, which attacks other animals and humans.
The alert was issued by the Agricultural, Rural, and Indigenous Roundtable (Mesa Agropecuaria, Rural, and Indigenous) due to the proliferation of abandoned dogs in both urban and rural areas.
Reports from the Ministry of Agriculture point out that poor management of the carcasses of animals that die from screwworms can become a source of infection, giving rise to new flies and hindering the eradication of the disease.
The cattle screwworm (CWS) is currently a problem for Central American countries, which are intensifying their campaign to eradicate it.
In the case of El Salvador, the epidemic returned three decades after being eradicated in December 2024 and is now spreading throughout the country despite government efforts to halt its spread, which also endangers humans.
The coordinator of the Agricultural, Rural, and Indigenous Roundtable, Mateo Rendon, stated that the spread through dogs is facilitated when they are in heat and the pack fights, causing wounds that become infected with the GBG.
Since its appearance in the country, dogs have become one of the most affected species, and the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly has found them a suitable place to deposit up to 400 larvae. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
