When the threat crosses borders, so must the response

“The threat knows no borders, and neither should our commitment, cooperation, or determination to overcome it.”

Juan Carlos Flores Márquez, the Head of the Livestock Department for Chihuahua's Secretariat of Rural Development, put it simply: New World screwworm does not follow the boundaries on a map, and neither can the response.

Maintaining clear, effective and continuous communication between Mexico and the United States, particularly among neighboring border states, is essential to preparing for and responding to the threat, Flores said.

That reality was at the heart of a recent International Borderlands Emergency Exercise and Field Ops: New World Screwworm Response Tabletop Exercise, co-facilitated by the Arizona Livestock Incident Response Team (ALIRT) and staff from the Arizona Department of Agriculture, including State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Wolker.

Around the table were livestock investigators, USDA, University of Arizona, University of New Mexico, Arizona Game and Fish, state animal health partners and international partners, including Mexico's SENASICA. Participants from Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and Chihuahua worked through scenarios designed to test how a livestock health concern could grow into a broader response requiring interstate or international coordination.

“The goal of the exercise was to facilitate discussion and build these interstate or international multiagency coordination pathways directly with the personnel that will be on the other end of the phone or virtual call in the event of a response,” Wolker said.

For Flores, those relationships are also an opportunity to share what works.

The experiences, technical knowledge, best practices and strategies developed in one state can provide valuable lessons for others. Sharing those experiences and adapting successful approaches across the region can strengthen the collective response and help partners move more quickly when an incident occurs.

The exercise was one of several tabletop exercises hosted over the past year, bringing partners together to work through animal health scenarios before they have to face them in the field.

For ALIRT, that work is central to its mission: bringing animal health professionals, veterinarians, livestock partners and state and federal agencies together to investigate unusual livestock health events and support a coordinated response.

ALIRT is a partnership among the U of A Cooperative Extension, the Arizona Department of Agriculture and the Arizona Cattle Growers Association. Elizabeth “Betsy” Greene, an Extension Specialist in the School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences, leads the university’s role on the team, while Wolker represents the State Veterinarian’s office. The ALIRT Executive Committee also includes Madelyn Ramirez, an ALIRT veterinarian, and Tim Peterson, representing the Arizona Cattle Growers Association.

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When One Animal Becomes a Larger Investigation

Imagine a suspect animal is identified during a livestock investigation.

The first steps are familiar to anyone who works with livestock: evaluate the animal, document the finding and establish its history.

Then the investigation widens.

The animal's herd of origin matters. So does its movement history. A recent purchase, sale, commingling event or trip through a sale yard can create links to other premises.

A single animal can quickly become a traceback and trace-forward investigation involving multiple operations, jurisdictions and agencies.

Dwayne C. Uhlig, Emergency Manager with the Arizona Department of Agriculture, described one of the most important aspects of the tabletop as learning what other agencies are capable of, understanding their plans and identifying where those capabilities connect.

That knowledge becomes especially important as an investigation expands.

Relationships Are Part of the Response

There is another part of preparedness that cannot be captured on an organizational chart: knowing the people.

Greene emphasized the value of building those relationships before an emergency begins.

During a tabletop, people are not simply reviewing agency names and response plans. They are sitting across the table from people they may need to work with later.

That familiarity matters.

In a fast-moving animal health emergency, there may not be time for introductions or figuring out who handles what, Greene explained. People need to recognize one another, understand each other's roles and know who to call.

Those connections extend beyond traditional animal health agencies. A veterinarian may bring clinical expertise. A livestock investigator may understand animal movement and production systems. An Extension specialist may have relationships with producers and communities. A wildlife professional may understand species and habitat that intersect with livestock operations.

No one person sees the entire picture. Preparedness means knowing who has the piece you need and having the relationships to bring that expertise into the response.

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A Livestock Landscape Without Borders

Arizona's livestock landscape does not stop at the state line. Rangelands extend across jurisdictions. Livestock move between ranches, pastures, sale yards and other facilities. Wildlife moves through the same landscape.

For investigators, those connections become part of the epidemiologic picture.

A sale yard can bring cattle from numerous operations together. A grazing allotment can connect animals from different areas. A movement record can link a ranch in Arizona to a destination in New Mexico, Sonora or Chihuahua.

Wildlife adds another layer, particularly where livestock and wildlife share habitat, water or other resources.

“Surveillance and management of NWS in wildlife is challenging. Leveraging resources that already exist and utilizing the public to improve early detection is key,” said Ann Fan, Assistant State Wildlife Veterinarian for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

“There are identified corridors and movement patterns of certain species. However, an animal infested with NWS that remains untreated would likely not travel too far before death occurs,” she said.

Understanding those patterns gives investigators a better starting point when they need to trace an animal, a herd or a potential source of exposure.

When the Response Has to Grow

The scenarios moved beyond the initial investigation. A second affected premises could be identified. Animal movement records could point to another state. An investigation could extend across the international border. Field teams could need additional veterinarians, investigators, equipment or supplies.

Participants worked through the triggers that could change the structure of the response, from interagency coordination to a formal incident management structure, including when unified command or additional state, federal or international partners might be needed.

“Every tabletop exercise leaves us with something that enhances our preparedness at the federal level. In this case, it was seeing how seamlessly partners from Arizona, New Mexico, as well as our Mexican partners from Sonora, Chihuahua and SENASICA came together to work through this shared challenge,” said Amber Headen, Chief New World Screwworm Interagency Coordinator at USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

“New World screwworm doesn’t recognize borders, so our communication and coordination can’t either. That level of preparedness, and the relationships behind it, gives us confidence that we have the right partners and the right resources already connected and ready to respond,” she said.

That progression is where preparedness becomes practical. A response that begins with a small group investigating an animal can grow into a coordinated effort spanning agencies, jurisdictions and borders.

The Limits of a Response

Participants also considered the practical constraints that can shape a response: personnel, equipment, supplies, transportation, geography and time.

Arizona's size can make field response and logistics challenging. Specialized personnel may be needed in multiple locations. Equipment and supplies may have to travel long distances. Investigators may be covering large areas while continuing other animal health responsibilities.

That is where partnerships become force multipliers, according to Uhlig.

One organization may have investigators. Another may bring veterinary expertise. Another may have wildlife knowledge, laboratory capabilities, equipment or established relationships in a particular region.

The value is knowing those capabilities exist and understanding how to bring them together.

From the Field Back to the Response

Ultimately, the response depends on people working with animals.

A livestock investigator may be establishing a herd's movement history. A veterinarian may be evaluating an animal and determining what information needs to be collected. A producer may need immediate guidance. A wildlife professional may have observations that add context to the investigation.

Information has to move in both directions. Field responders need clear guidance, while those coordinating the response need timely, accurate information from the field.

The exercise considered those connections along with protective measures, epidemiologic investigation and guidance for field responders, veterinary professionals, industry and community stakeholders.

Practice Before the Pressure

The value of a tabletop is not in having every answer. It is in finding the gaps while there is still time to address them, understanding what partners can bring to a response and building the relationships that will matter when an incident crosses a ranch boundary, a state line or an international border.

For Flores, continued collaboration is an important part of building regional preparedness.

He encouraged the continuation and expansion of binational working sessions, technical exchanges and joint exercises, where partners can learn from one another, share experiences and strengthen their preparedness and response capabilities.

Chihuahua, he said, remains committed to working collaboratively with government agencies, livestock organizations, technical experts and neighboring states on both sides of the border.

That commitment reflects the larger lesson of the exercise: New World screwworm may be a pest, but preparing for it is ultimately about people. People who understand livestock, wildlife, the landscape and one another—and who are prepared to work together when a response reaches beyond any one ranch, agency, state or country.