Working in Foreign Countries To 
Protect U.S. Agriculture and Create 
Trade Opportunities 
VS and their IS counterparts also work 
with foreign governments to eliminate ani- 
mal diseases in other countries that threaten 
U.S. agriculture. For example, APHIS worked 
with Mexico to eliminate screwworm. 
Mexico was officially declared free of that 
pest in 1991. 
APHIS also cooperates with Central 
American nations to eradicate screwworm 
from that area and ultimately to establish 
and maintain a permanent sterile-fly barrier 
at the Darien Gap between Panama and 
Colombia. In areas where screwworm is a 
problem, sterile screwworm flies are released 
to mate with fertile, wild flies and breed any 
lingering screwworm population out of 
existence. Additional eradication activities 
include the regulation of cattle movement 
and treatment of wounds infested by 
screwworms. 
The Darien Gap is the narrowest geographic 
region in southern Panama, stretching only 
102 miles. The region is mainly jungle and 
has no roads, but a number of rivers and 
trails lead to North America, so APHIS 
continues to monitor the borders of Panama 
and Colombia. 
In addition, a new facility to produce sterile 
flies is being built in Panama to replace, by 
2003, the existing one in Mexico. Locating 
the new facility in Panama, an area where 
screwworm has not been eradicated, will 
reduce the risk of reinfestation of the 
United States through accidental release 
of fertile flies. 
To date, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, 
El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua have 
been declared free of screwworm. Once the 
pest has been eradicated from Panama, 
Central America will be declared 
screwworm free. 
VS and IS are also helping to combat CSF in 
the Dominican Republic and Haiti. CSF was 
eradicated from the United States in 1978 
after a 16-year effort by the industry and 
State and Federal Governments. Today, only 
16 other countries are free of CSF. 
In the spring and summer of 1997, outbreaks 
of CSF were confirmed in Haiti and the 
Dominican Republic; both countries had 
eradicated the disease in the early 1980s. 
VS is working with IS in those countries to 
eliminate the disease and lessen the threat of 
CSF’s getting into the United States. 
Working with the governments of the 
Dominican Republic and Haiti, APHIS is 
planning to establish a passenger predepar- 
ture inspection program in all international 
airports in those countries. The belongings 
of passengers headed for the United States 
will be inspected before they leave so that 
any illegal agricultural products will be 
confiscated before they ever enter the 
United States. 
Another disease of concern for the United 
States is FMD. The United States has been 
free of it since 1929, but FMD outbreaks in 
Europe and South America will continue to 
pose a threat to American agriculture until 
the disease is eradicated. Although a large 
portion of South America is free of FMD, the 
region continues to battle outbreaks of the 
highly contagious disease, which debilitates 
cloven-hooved animals, resulting in great 
economic losses for producers. 
