US EditionLawmakers, USDA Seek to Combat New World Screwworm Along the Southern Border
SOUTH TEXAS, JUN 17 – The USDA plans to release over 160 million sterile flies weekly from Texas and Mexico to halt the New World Screwworm and protect livestock and the food supply chain.
- On June 18, 2025, the U.S. government unveiled a comprehensive five-part strategy to address the threat of New World screwworms, featuring a planned $8.5 million sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Texas.
- Following the detection of screwworm approximately 700 miles south in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico, authorities halted the entry of cattle, horses, and bison through ports along the U.S. southern border on May 11.
- The plan aims to increase sterile fly production domestically and retrofit a Mexican facility to breed an additional 60-100 million sterile flies weekly to halt screwworm reproduction.
- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins expressed confidence that the U.S. will overcome the New World screwworm threat once more, while officials emphasized that releasing sterile flies remains the sole effective strategy to halt its spread.
- The plan underscores collaboration with Mexico, addresses wildlife transmission risks, and aims to reopen southern ports once screwworm presence recedes southward.
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Lawmakers, USDA seek to combat New World screwworm along the southern border
The New World screwworm parasite has been detected in Mexico, prompting the U.S. Agriculture Department to launch an $8.5 million sterile fly production facility in South Texas to prevent an outbreak in the U.S.
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