Farm workers at high risk amid screwworm outbreak in US south-west

The main risk of the New World screwworm outbreak are animals, and the almost $350bn meat and poultry industry Photograph: San Antonio Express-News/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The main risk of the New World screwworm outbreak are animals, and the almost $350bn meat and poultry industry Photograph: San Antonio Express-News/Hearst Newspapers/Getty Images Farm workers at high risk amid screwworm outbreak in US south-west Those who work with animals are at greater risk for infection, but face challenges in accessing healthcare Agricultural workers are among the highest risk group for human infection during the screwworm outbreak in the American south, yet they frequently face challenges in accessing public health – an ongoing concern amid zoonotic spillovers such as H5N1 bird flu. Screwworm has been detected in goats and sheep in three Texas counties in recent days, bringing the total to 16 known cases among animals and none reported in people. Despite being at greater risk of spillover, farm workers are frequently disconnected from healthcare; they often work long hours after clinics close for the day, live on-site and in remote locations, lack insurance or the financial resources to pay for healthcare, and face language barriers. Migrant workers and people of color may also fear seeking healthcare or even driving outside work as the Trump administration clamps down on immigrants. These factors make it more difficult to prevent and treat emerging diseases, and it makes it harder for public health to stop outbreaks at their source, including monitoring diseases, known as disease surveillance. View image in fullscreen Ranchers talk among themselves before a New World screwworm press conference at the Knipling-Bushland US Livestock Insects Research Laboratory on 8 June in Texas. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images “If they’re not in touch with the healthcare system, they’re very likely not going to be picked up by any of the surveillance that is being done,” said Rebekah Stewart, a clinical educator and care coordinator with the Migrant Clinicians Network and a family nurse practitioner. “It’s like a jungle gym, the number of hoops and barriers that a person has to jump over to get from the farm to a healthcare system. And any opportunity that we can reduce those barriers is going to be not just good for the individuals and their community, but good for all of us.” The main risk during the New World screwworm outbreak is to animals, including the $347.7bn meat and poultry industry. Before the parasitic fly was pushed out of the US four decades ago, it caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses. As the insects moved back up through Central America, the livestock industry has prepared for cases in the US. In recent months, it has become a matter of when, not if, the screwworm would arrive, said Tom Paterson, the president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers’ Association and a cattle rancher in Catron county. Earlier in th