USDA expands New World screwworm eradication efforts by opening of sterile fly dispersal facility in Mexico

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is opening a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico, which will allow the federal agency to continue the fight against New World screwworm (NWS) by aerially dispersing sterile flies across northeastern Mexico.

“The facility will ensure flexibility and responsiveness in northern Mexico, giving us a greater ability to drop sterile flies and continue to push the pest south,” said US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. 

Stopping the spread of screwworm is a top priority for the Trump Administration, she added, explaining that eradication efforts have entailed the bilateral coordination and cooperation between the governments of the US and Mexico. 

Secretary Rollins said her team is boosting efforts and completing a joint review of USDA screwworm operations south of the border to ensure protocols are being followed. 

“As we enter the winter months, we continue to prioritize the response in Mexico and the rest of our five-pronged plan to protect US livestock and the livelihoods of American farmers and ranchers,” she said. 

The USDA’s strategy for eradicating New World screwworm

Mass production and targeted dispersal of sterile flies remain critical components of our effective response. There are two methods for dispersing sterile insects: aerial dispersal and ground-release chambers. 

According to the USDA, aerial operations are preferable because they allow for dispersal at a steady rate through a large area ,which may include locations that are inaccessible for ground vehicles. 

Ground release chambers, on the other hand, are used when there’s a need to deploy sterile insects outside of the dispersal facility range quickly.

The agency continues to weekly disperse 100 million sterile flies in Mexico. Until now, aerial operations had been limited to southern Mexico, requiring ground release chambers to reach more northern areas of the country. 

The role of the new Tampico facility

Although Mexico continues to confirm new cases of NWS, the overwhelming majority of these remain in the far southern part of the country, with no significant northward expansion over the past several months. 

Should that change, the Tampico facility will enable  USDA to tackle any cases that occur elsewhere in Mexico immediately.

The agency is investing $21 million to support Mexico’s renovation of an existing fruit fly facility in Metapa, which will double NWS production capacity once complete. With ongoing support from APHIS technical experts, Mexico anticipates this sterile fly production to begin as soon as summer 2026.

To expand domestic response capacity, the USDA has also begun construction on a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, that is projected to begin operating in early 2026. APHIS is also expediting design and construction of a sterile fly production facility in Southern Texas, with a targeted maximum capacity of 300 million sterile flies per week.

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