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A specialized sterile insect technique irradiator transiting the Panama Canal was redirected to support a U.S. effort against the New World Screwworm under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, highlighting a cross-border push to protect animal health, agriculture and communities.
NWS is a parasite that comes from a fly that lays its eggs in the flesh of warm blooded animals. “The larvae, or maggots, burrow in and feast on the flesh”, said Jon O’Rullian, president of the Foss Therapy Services, Incorporated, the company who manufactures the irradiators. “ It’s very important to any sort of livestock producer.”
The unit was originally built for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Sterile Insect Technique program and was bound for Paraguay to support fruit fly control. Faced with an immediate need in the United States, the equipment was made available for U.S. use because manufacturing a new machine can take nine to 12 months, O’Rullian said.
With IAEA permission, DARPA was granted access to the irradiator on July 8 to help address the New World screw worm in the United States, O’Rullian said. After the handover, moving the machine out of the port proved challenging until Panamanian partners assisted in shifting it from the boat port to the airport. “They were very instrumental in getting this irradiator from the boat port to the airport,” said O’Rullian. “That was the hardest part of this whole thing.”
Following several weeks of coordination and transportation arrangements, the irradiator reached Panama Pacifico International Airport on July 23. On Aug. 23, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III assigned to the 21st Airlift Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, California, arrived to move the equipment to the United States.
“International cooperation is incredibly important,” said O’Rullian, emphasizing that collective action is essential to prevent public health, economic and agricultural impacts when threats span borders.
