Photo courtesy of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the launch of an $8.5 million sterile New World Screwworm (NWS) fly dispersal facility in South Texas, along with a five-pronged plan to detect, control and eliminate the pest. The plan’s steps include:

1. Stop the pest from spreading in Mexico and ensure we are full partners in eradication

  • USDA spent $21 million to renovate an existing fruit fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico, which will provide an additional 60-100 million sterile flies a week to stop the spread, on top of the over 100 million already produced in Panama.
  • Over the last two weeks, USDA conducted an in-person audit of Mexico’s animal health controls. These allowed APHIS to see firsthand the challenges and opportunities in Mexico toward combating NWS.
  • USDA is working closely with Mexico to improve its surveillance and detection of NWS.

2. Protect the U.S. border at all costs

  • USDA will support Mexico’s strategic trapping along our shared border and ensure regular reporting.
  • USDA will escalate communications and public outreach along the U.S.-Mexico border to create a “barrier zone of vigilance.”.
  • APHIS cattle fever tick riders in collaboration with U.S. Customs & Border Protection and with state partners will intercept and treat stray and illegally introduced livestock.

3. Maximize our readiness

  • USDA will partner with state animal health officials to update and finalize emergency management plans and support federal, state, and local responders.
  • USDA will ensure sufficient NWS treatments and will work to remove any federal regulatory hurdles for their use.

4. Take the fight to the screwworm

  • USDA will immediately begin building a sterile insect dispersal facility at Moore Air Base, set to be completed in 2025.
  • USDA is exploring all options to eradicate NWS, which includes potential expenditures in new technologies.

5. Innovate our way to eradication

  • USDA is pursuing innovative research to improve sterile insect technology, exploring development of better traps and lures, exploring next-generation NWS treatments, and assessing the potential use and practicality of additional strains or genetically modified versions of the pest.
  • USDA will strengthen partnerships with land-grant universities in border states such as Texas, Arizona and New Mexico to facilitate local training, trap deployment, surveillance validation, and stakeholder outreach.

Read more on the USDA’s plan to combat NWS here.