The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently marked a critical milestone in the ongoing battle against New World screwworm (NWS) with the official opening of a state-of-the-art sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico. This facility is a strategic addition to USDA’s existing pest control infrastructure, enabling the aerial release of sterile flies across northeastern Mexico, including Nuevo Leon, a region where several recent NWS cases have been detected. By expanding aerial distribution capabilities to northern Mexico, the facility enhances USDA’s flexibility and responsiveness in combating screwworm infestations and helps to push infestations further south, protecting both Mexican and U.S. livestock industries.
Prior to this development, sterile fly aerial dispersal was operational only in southern Mexico, necessitating less efficient ground release methods in northern areas. The new Tampico site allows for more expansive and rapid responses to screwworm outbreaks, which is vital given the continuing presence of NWS in southern Mexico, though recent months have seen no significant spread northward. In case any new outbreaks arise beyond the southern region, the Tampico facility provides USDA with the capability to immediately deploy sterile flies to control the pest.
Sterile flies used in these control efforts are produced at the COPEG facility in Panama, with continuous releases averaging about 100 million flies per week across Mexico. To further boost production capacity, USDA is investing $21 million in renovating a fruit fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico, aiming to double sterile fly output by summer 2026. Additionally, USDA is constructing new sterile fly dispersal and production facilities in Texas, including a major dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg expected to operate by early 2026, which will be capable of producing up to 300 million sterile flies weekly. These expansions bolster the domestic capacity to address potential screwworm outbreaks along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The USDA works closely with Mexico’s agriculture authority, SENASICA, coordinating trapping, surveillance, and movement restrictions as part of a collaborative five-pronged NWS Action Plan to prevent the northward spread of this destructive livestock pest. The sterile fly release program remains a cornerstone of this plan, targeting the screwworm whose larvae bore into living tissue of warm-blooded animals, causing severe livestock injuries and economic losses.
The opening of the Tampico sterile fly dispersal facility represents a vital enhancement in North American biosecurity infrastructure. It not only improves the speed and efficiency of USDA’s pest control responses but also underscores the commitment of the U.S. and Mexico to protect livestock industries and rural economies from one of the region’s most persistent agricultural threats. Through these efforts, USDA continues to safeguard livestock health, bolster agricultural productivity, and support the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers in both countries.
In summary, this new facility, together with ongoing investments in production and support facilities, strengthens regional cooperation, advances scientific pest control methods, and increases preparedness to contain and eradicate the New World screwworm pest threat for years to come.
