UF alums, Dr. Mark Cunningham and Samantha Gibbs played a key role in helping manage the screwworm outbreak in the Florida keys.
Last September, after University of Florida and U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratories identified fly larvae submitted from the Florida Keys as a devastating foreign pest known as New World screwworm, federal and state agriculture and wildlife agencies began aggressive management efforts to control and eradicate the parasites.
It was the first time in 30 years that the pest, a devastating blowfly that feeds on living tissue, had been found infesting animals in the United States. The larvae had been collected from Key deer, an endangered subspecies of the North American white-tailed deer found only in the Florida Keys.
From the initial diagnostics to the implementation of the eradication effort, several professionals associated with the UF College of Veterinary Medicine were involved. Heather Walden, Ph.D., an assistant professor of parasitology, confirmed the parasite in samples her laboratory was sent. Several college alumni, including Samantha Gibbs, D.V.M. (’01), Mark Cunningham, D.V.M. (’98), Dan Wolf, D.V.M. (’97) and Diane Kitchen, D.V.M., Ph.D. (’97) were among those who played important roles in managing the screwworm outbreak.
Immediately after receiving news of the diagnosis, Gibbs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Wildlife Refuge System veterinarian, traveled to the National Key Deer Refuge in Big Pine Key to assist. She worked with staff from the refuge, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and USDA to help reduce the impact on Key deer and assist with management efforts.
“While FDOACS and USDA focused on screwworm fly surveillance, domestic animal cases, preventing the movement of screwworm out of the Keys and release of sterile screwworm flies to eradicate the wild-type flies, the wildlife operations team focused on other duties,” Gibbs said.
Among those duties: responding to all incoming calls to the Key deer hotline, euthanizing deer with severe screwworm larvae infestations, collecting Key deer ovaries and testes for preservation, incinerating carcasses to destroy maggots and treating affected deer with anti-parasitic drugs to prevent further infestations. The team also darted Key deer to clean wounds of maggots and treat the animals.
“We also placed collars on female deer to track their progress during fawning and ensured that all activities were conducted in compliance with environmental requirements, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Animal Welfare Act,” Gibbs said.
Cunningham, a veterinarian with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, worked with Gibbs and others in treating affected deer and on other outbreak-related tasks. He said the experience was one he’ll never forget — one which had been especially meaningful to him, as the end result was the eradication of the parasite and the preservation of an endangered species.
“The close working relationship between local, state, and federal agencies helped ensure the outbreak was eradicated quickly and did not spread to the mainland,” Cunningham said.
Between October and December 2016, 135 Key deer were euthanized due to the screwworm outbreak. The last laboratory-confirmed cases of New World screwworm in a Key deer took place on Jan. 7, and on March 23, officials announced the eradication of the parasite in Florida.
“The remaining population of Key deer is estimated at around 600 individuals and is expected to rebound from the impacts of the screwworm outbreak,” Gibbs said.
