Overview

• The USDA approved an $8.5 million facility at Moore Air Base in Texas to breed millions of sterile male New World screwworm flies.
• A separate $21 million retrofit of a plant near Guatemala’s border will support fly production, expected to be online by the end of 2026.
• The sterile insect technique that eradicated screwworm in the U.S. in 1966 underpins the current containment strategy.
• Live cattle, horse and bison imports from Mexico were paused after screwworm detections 700 miles south of the U.S. border.
• Agriculture officials say the measures will shield livestock health, farm economies and the broader food supply chain from the parasite’s spread.