The U.S. government is gearing up to build an $8.5 million facility for breeding flies near the border with Mexico. This initiative aims to tackle a parasitic threat that poses risks to livestock.
This facility will be set up at Moore Air Base in Texas, with plans to produce millions of “sterile male New World screwworm flies.” The idea is that these sterile males will be released into the wild and will mate with wild females. This should help reduce reproduction rates and prevent the growth of larvae that can cause serious harm, as noted by reports.
Female New World screwworm flies traditionally lay their eggs in open wounds on animals. Once they hatch, the larvae, often referred to as maggots, burrow into the animal’s tissue, leading to severe and sometimes fatal damage, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
This Texas facility would mark the second of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. Authorities have grown increasingly concerned after the New World screwworm fly was detected in Mexico, just 700 miles from the U.S. southern border. As a precaution, officials recently paused imports of cattle, horses, and bison from some areas along the border.
To enhance containment measures, the USDA is contemplating a secondary breeding facility at the same Texas site, which could allow for the production of up to 300 million sterile flies weekly. Additionally, they plan to invest $21 million to update an existing facility near the border with Guatemala for fly production, although that won’t be operational until late 2026.
“The United States has defeated [New World screwworm] before, and we will do it again,” stated U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. She emphasized that the threat to livestock, the economy, and the food supply chain is taken very seriously.
Historically, the United States has successfully raised and released New World screwworm flies, nearly eliminating them for decades. While there are solutions available for fly infestations, officials are particularly worried about the economic consequences for farms. The larvae could infest not only pets but also humans.
- 1966 – Final eradication marked (end of wild spread).
- 2016–2017 – Controlled outbreak noted in Florida Keys, the only re-establishment since 1966.
“We trust the enthusiasm for cooperation that Secretary Rollins mentioned, and based on objective results and reports, we anticipate restarting cattle exports as soon as possible,” said Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué in a recent post.
Countries like Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and others in South America are known hotspots for New World screwworm flies, according to the USDA.
