Environmental assessment of the Egypt screwworm control program

If this happens, chances for eradicating NWS will become increasingly remote. This report assesses early detection and control efforts in Egypt, focusing on the environmental benefits and hazards of combating the NWS with the insecticide coumaphos. Areas covered include: (1) Egypt"s geographical, climatic, and demographic characteristics; (2) the routes of NWS entry into Egypt and threat which NWS poses to Egypt"s human population, wildlife, and 13 million head of livestock; (3) Egypt"s pest control infrastructure, including pesticide use, human safety, and pesticide storage and disposal; (4) integrated pest management techniques, such as wind oriented traps, sentinel sheep pens, the screwworm adult suppression system, and ivermectin; and (5) donor assistance to Libyan and Egyptian eradication programs. Coumaphos, which must be applied in premeasured amounts to animal wounds using mechanical sprayers, has been found to be effective against the NWS and other livestock pests. It is, however, moderately or highly toxic to birds, fish, aquatic invertebrates, and humans. For this reason, the environmental assessment examines how and where coumaphos will be used in Egypt (especially in the Western Desert); the level of field staff training in pesticide application; the "banking" of pesticides, that is, their shipment in small amounts, according to need; and the overall impact of coumaphos on the environment. Detailed recommendations are included.