Medfly surfaces; Placencia quarantined

Nature has not been particularly kind to Belize these days as evidenced by Hurricane Keith in October, followed shortly by news of the devastation of the Mountain Pine Ridge by the Southern Pine Bark Beetle. Today we are informed that another insect is threatening to wreak havoc on the economy in the form of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly. On Wednesday a routine inspection of traps in Placencia turned up a single fertile medfly. The result is that this morning the entire peninsula was declared a quarantine area. This means that no fruit or vegetables may be transported from the affected location and checkpoints will be established to inspect all vehicles entering or leaving. Other measures to eradicate the insect will be taken by the Belize Agricultural Health Authority and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If Belize becomes seriously infested by the medfly it could lead to the banning of fresh fruit exports, notably papaya, from Belize into the United States.