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Food and Agriculture ~;~~::ization Nations • 'fl-IE i'IE'1V '1VORlD SCRE'1V'1VORJ'1\ ERf\DICf\flOi'I PROGRf\J'1\J'1\E FOOD AND AGRICUUURE ORGANIZATION Of HIE UNITED NATIONS Text prepared by Helen Gillman under the supervision of Dr E.P. Cunningham, Director, FAO Animal Production and Health Division and Dr A.E. Sidahmed, Senior Operations Officer, Screwworm Emergency Centre for North Africa. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this pub­ lication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. M-27 ISBN 92-5-103200-9 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, me­ chanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copy­ right owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publica­ tions Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Viale de/le Terme di Caracalla 00100 Rome, Italy. Printed in Italy © FAO 1992 Contents Preface 7 Introduction 9 Acronyms 12 Chapter one The New World screwworm 14 Chapter two The North African emergency 42 Chapter three Preparing for eradication 70 Chapter four The eradication programme 80 Chapter five Managing the campaign 124 Chapter six Money matters 142 Chapter seven Involving the public 150 Chapter eight Activities in neighbouring countries 164 Chapter nine Support organizations 170 Conclusion 178 Annex one FAQ chronology of events 181 Annex two SECNA documents 187 Annex three Coordination Committee 189 While the great majority of our work in Preface FAO is aimed at the steady improve­ ment of the world's capacity to feed its people, we are also on occasion chal­ lenged to respond to situations of great and immediate danger. The discovery of the New World screwworm in North Africa in 7988 was one such emergen­ cy. It rapidly became clear that the price to be paid for the persistent and inevitable spread of this pest from its beachhead in the Libyan Arab Jamahi­ riya would have been very great in­ deed - in terms of suffering and loss in domestic animal populations and dev­ astation of wildlife as well as the recur­ rent cost of containment far into the future. It was also clear that an eradica­ tion campaign could be costly: pru­ dent estimates put the costs in interna­ tional funds at close to US$ 700 million. It is a tribute to all concerned that successful eradication has been achieved more rapidly, and at less cost, than might have been expected. The international funds required have come to less than US$35 million. lnde­ p end en t economic appraisal has shown the programme to have been a remarkably profitable investment. FAO undertook this emergency campaign on behalf of the countries threatened by the disease and the 22 countries and agencies that provided the emergency funds required. I would like to extend my thanks to the donors for that essential support; to our sister United Nations agencies, IAEA, /FAD and UNOP, for their active collabora­ tion; and to all those who carried this campaign through to such a successful conclusion. Edouard Saouma Director-General 7 Introduction This book documents a programme which was unusual in several respects. The campaign to eradicate the New World screwworm from North Africa was unusually large in financial terms. At the same time it was unusually short. Eradication itself took about six months, although it was preceded by one year of preparation and followed by one year of continued surveillance and preventive actions. It involved an unusually large array of partners: 22 donors, eight countries at immediate risk, four UN agencies and several con­ tractors from the private sector. What have been the main factors contributing to the success of the pro­ gramme? To begin with, a certain amount of good luck was involved. It was fortunate that the initial outbreak occurred in the Libyan Arab Jamahiri­ ya, a relatively wealthy country with good infrastructure and, in particular, a strongly developed national veterinary service. The early and effective re­ sponse of the Libyan authorities was undoubtedly a major factor in contain­ ing the outbreak within a limited area, eventually making possible a success­ ful eradication programme. While con­ ditions in the coastal area where the outbreak first occurred were highly suitable for screwworm establishment this zone is fortunately bounded by areas which are much less suitable: sea to the north, desert to the south and east, and semi-desert to the west. The western limit of the infested area ex­ tended almost to the Tunisian border, and the active cooperation of the Tu­ nisian authorities helped to prevent spread in that direction. Despite these factors limiting its spread, the success­ ful overwintering ofscrewworm in Lib­ ya for three years - and the explosive expansion in the number of infested animals in the second year of 9 infestation - demonstrated the serious­ duce; and an elaborate information ness and the scale of the problem. campaign, using all media, to prepare The other major element of good the population for the aerial distribu­ fortune was that the t€;chnology for tion of sterile insects as well as to en­ eradication had already been devel­ sure the cooperation of livestock own­ oped and was available. Three dec­ ers and the public generally. All of ades of research lay behind the suc­ these elements were as necessary as cessful use of the sterile insect tech­ the sterile insects themselves. nique for screwworm eradication, first While sterile flies had been widely in the United States and then in Mex­ and successfully used in the Americas, ico. The knowledge built up through those campaigns had been conducted that research and the experience close to the plant that produced the gained from the campaigns in North insects. The long-distance transport America were made fully available for in valved in the North African pro­ use in North Africa. Furthermore, with gramme introduced a totally new di­ the support of the Mexican and United mension and, with it, great uncertainty. States governments, the only sterile The key to the success of sterile insect screwworm plant in the world, at Tuxtla eradication is the competitive ability of Gutierrez, was authorized to provide the sterile insects when dispersed. flies under contract to the programme. Their quality is adversely affected by While it is now clear that the con­ suboptimal handling at any stage up to tainment activities carried out by the the dispersal point. Much experimen­ Libyan authorities from 7989 were very tation was required with shipping rou­ effective, this was by no means certain tines and environmental controls, and in the early stages of the campaign. very detailed interaction was required Substantial animal inspection and sur­ at all stages with the contract com­ veillance activities were therefore un­ panies providing the air transport and dertaken in all of the surrounding distribution. This attention to detail countries. Meanwhile, a sterile insect paid off: the quality of flies distributed eradication campaign was actively be­ was maintained at a very high level ing prepared. Because the final cam­ throughout the programme - un­ paign was so dramatically successful, it doubtedly a key element in the pro­ is easy to overlook the importance of gramme1s rapid success. the planning and preparation which Apart from technical matters, some made success possible. From the be­ of the most anxious moments through­ ginning, it was clear that massive out the campaign arose from difficulties operations on the ground would be on the diplomatic front. It is a tribute to needed. These included improved common sense that the difficult diplo­ animal inspection, surveillance and matic climate between certain coun­ quarantine arrangements; the estab­ tries involved was not allowed to im­ lishment of a laboratory to carry out the pede progress. Even the outbreak of necessary quality control measures; hostilities in the Persian Cul~ just as the the installation of environment-con­ programme was moving into high gear, trolled handling and storage facilities did not cause interruptions, although for sterile flies; a capacity to assemble, the associated fluctuations in air freight analyse and interpret the masses of da ­ and insurance rates caused much fi­ ta which the programme would pro- nancial uncertainty. A particularly diffi- 10 cult issue arose over the question of diture by Libya, together with about liability in the event of a claim that flies US$ 78 million in cash and kind re­ distributed had not been properly ster­ quired for the earlier phases of the pro­ ilized. The probability of this actually gramme and for activities in surround­ happening was effectively zero, but it ing countries. Thus, the total cost is ap­ gave rise to a very critical legal ques­ proximately US$78 million. An inde­ tion. It was eventually resolved on the pendent economic appraisal of costs initiative of Mr Said El-Mabrouk, who and benefits has shown the return to tragically died in a motor accident investment, for North Africa alone, to within hours of that meeting. be in the region of 50: 7. Despite the generous response of The programme had many of the the donors to the call for support, anxi­ elements of a military campaign, and to eties over finances were myriad, partic­ some extent its success is also attribut­ ularly in the early stages of the pro­ able to the fact that it was managed gramme.

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