Government places southern Belize under quarantine

BELMOPAN, CMC - The Belize government has placed a significant section of the country under an agriculture quarantine following the detection of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly. The MedFly, as the pest is also known, is detrimental to fruits and vegetables and the authorities said the quarantine had gone into effect in the Stann Creek and Toledo districts, south of here. Officials at the Belize Agriculture Health Authority (BAHA) said the high number of fruit flies detected in this latest infestation, parallels the last major detection in 2003.