Overview

• Construction began this week on an $8.5 million sterile-fly production facility at Moore Air Force Base to boost output toward 400 million flies per week.
• U.S. and Mexican teams continue weekly aerial releases over South Texas and northern Mexico, exceeding 100 million sterile males to suppress New World screwworm populations.
• An import ban on live cattle, horses and bison from Mexico remains effective through mid-September to reinforce border defenses against fly migration.
• The USDA has allocated $21 million to retrofit a Mexican breeding plant and plans a Texas distribution hub by year’s end and a Mexican factory operational by July 2026.
• The effort builds on the 1962–1975 eradication campaign that released over 94 billion sterile flies and relies on the screwworm’s single-mating biology for maximum impact.