Mexico and the United States have inaugurated a new factory that will produce sterile flies to help combat the New World screwworm, a livestock parasite capable of killing cattle.
The facility, which cost $61 million to build, was officially opened on Saturday by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. Located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, the plant was completed in less than a year through joint funding from both countries.
Once fully operational, the factory is expected to produce 10 million sterile flies each week. The insects will be released to mate with wild female New World screwworm flies, disrupting their reproductive cycle and helping to reduce the pest’s population. A similar facility already operates in Panama.
Mexico confirmed its first case of the parasite in Chiapas in 2024. The United States eradicated the pest in 1966 using the same sterile insect technique, although an outbreak affecting mainly deer was reported in Florida in 2016.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Agriculture confirmed a case of the parasite in Texas. Last summer, the United States also suspended livestock imports from Mexico after cattle there tested positive for the pest.
The New World screwworm fly lays its eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed on living tissue, causing severe infestations. If left untreated, the parasite can kill infected animals and spread rapidly through livestock populations.
