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2mo ago

U.S. Opens Texas Center to Disperse Sterile Flies Against Screwworm Threat

The facility is a stopgap ahead of a planned USDA fly factory expected in 2027.

A worker handles a tray with Mediterranean fruit flies inside a bio-factory as Mexico's government reconditions a plant to become the new sterile screwworm fly facility, part of the country's effort to eradicate the flesh-eating parasite that threatens its livestock industry and raises tensions with the United States, in Metapa de Dominguez, Mexico, October 17, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo
Gov. Greg Abbott looks on as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins speaks at a ribbon cutting event for the grand opening of a Domestic New World Screwworm sterile fly dispersal facility in Edinburg.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, center, attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of a Domestic New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility to combat the northward spread of NWS and protect American livestock, in Edinburg, Texas, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
A test container of dyed fly pupae are displayed at a Domestic New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility to combat the northward spread of NWS and protect American livestock, in Edinburg, Texas, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Overview

  • Releases of sterile male flies begin this week in northern Mexico and within about 50 miles of the Texas border as a precaution.
  • The Edinburg dispersal hub at Moore Air Base was unveiled by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Gov. Greg Abbott.
  • Sterile males bred in Panama and routed through a Tampico site will be dispersed from Texas, leveraging females’ single-mating behavior to prevent viable offspring.
  • The USDA is investing $750 million in a nearby production plant designed for about 300 million sterile flies per week by 2027 and $21 million to convert a facility in southern Mexico.
  • Border safeguards remain in effect, including a halt to cattle, bison and horse imports since July and a Texas disaster declaration that activated a joint response team and expanded surveillance.