USDA, US Army Break Ground on Texas Facility to Combat Flesh-Eating Parasite Spread

USDA, US Army Break Ground on Texas Facility to Combat Flesh-Eating Parasite Spread

U.S. officials broke ground for a New World Screwworm (NWS) sterile fly production facility in Texas to combat the flesh-eating parasites, which have spread across Mexico and pose a significant threat to America’s livestock, wildlife, and public health. Located in Moore Air Base, Edinburg, the facility “is being built with an aggressive timeline designed to quickly expand the nation’s sterile fly production capacity,” the U.S. Department of Agri…

This potentially deadly, flesh-eating parasite is getting closer to the US

A potentially deadly parasite that can infect livestock, pets and humans is less than 100 miles away from the Texas border and is inching closer to the U.S.

New Texas Sterile Fly Facility

Friday, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins and Lieutenant General William H. “Butch” Graham, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) commanding general, led the groundbreaking for the new sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. USDA is partnering with USACE to construct this facility, which is a cornerstone of Secretary Rollins’ five-pronged strategy (PDF, 1005 KB) to combat New World Screwworm (NWS), expa…