Clive Bryan, Gleaner Writer

The Ministry of Agriculture's spending to eradicate the screw worm from Jamaica is fast approaching $2 billion, as the programme is extended for another three months.

Head of the Veterinary Services Division in the ministry, Dr. Headley Edwards, says with additional field staff and a more efficient strain of sterile fly being released across the island, it is hoped that screw worm infestation would be eliminated by the end of this year. He also says the project will receive technical assistance from Mexico.

The screw worm eradication programme was designed to be a three-year project (1998-2001) estimated to cost $324 million, but after nine years and $1.5 billion the pest has still not been eradicated.

President of the Jamaica Veterinary Medicine Association (JVMA), Dr. Graham Brown, sees a need for an overhaul of the project, suggesting that a full-time manager be employed to manage it.

"Initially, good results were seen from the programme, however, after about four years there was again a noticeable increase in reported screw worm cases," senior veterinarian at the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Crueltyto Animals (JSPCA), Dr. Paul Turner, says. He surmises that the current infection rate is near pre-1998 levels.

The JVMA secretary, Dr. Paul Cadogan, says "There is under-reporting, as screw worm cases continue unabated in most areas."

The screw worm is an infectious pest which affects warm-blooded animals. The damage caused by the pest was estimated to have been costing the economy US$7 million annually in 1990.

Dr. Brown says greater use should be made of the expertise of the 70 veterinarians in private practice.