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USDA to Reopen Southern Border Livestock Ports After Sterile Flies Halt Screwworm Spread

Eight weeks of sterile fly releases have halted new infections with no sign of northward spread, clearing the way for livestock crossings to reopen on July 7.

USDA targets screwworms by air-dropping billions of sterile flies.
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Overview

  • Since late May, USDA aircraft have released more than 100 million lab-bred, radiation-sterilized male screwworm flies each week over vulnerable border regions.
  • In a June 30 update, officials confirmed no new livestock infections or northward migration among wild screwworm populations after eight weeks of releases.
  • Beginning July 7, select southern border ports will reopen to cattle, horse, and bison imports under strict monitoring and binational surveillance protocols.
  • A new $8.5 million Moore Air Base facility in Texas and a $21 million expansion of the Metapa plant in Mexico aim to boost weekly sterile fly output to nearly 400 million by year’s end.
  • The program revives the sterile insect technique pioneered between 1962 and 1974 to collapse wild screwworm populations and safeguard U.S. agriculture and public health.