The initiative aims to eliminate a flesh-eating insect that poses a significant threat to the country’s beef industry.
To combat the spread of a dangerous parasite, US authorities are preparing to release billions of flies from airplanes over Mexico and southern Texas, according to the Associated Press (AP). The goal is to protect livestock, wildlife, and domestic pets from screwworm, a flesh-eating maggot.
Unlike typical flies that feed on decaying matter, the screwworm fly presents a greater danger by laying eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of living warm-blooded animals and humans. Upon hatching, the larvae burrow into the flesh and consume living tissue from within, often leading to severe infections or death if untreated.
“A thousand-pound bovine can be dead from this in two weeks,” Michael Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, told the news agency.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is planning to mass-produce adult male flies, sterilize them with radiation, and release them into the environment. These sterile males will then mate with wild females, resulting in no offspring and gradually eradicating the parasite population.
“It’s an exceptionally good technology,” said Edwin Burgess, an assistant professor at the University of Florida who studies parasites. He added that it could help solve “some kind of large problem.”
The AP noted that this measure is considered a more effective and environmentally friendly method of pest control than using pesticides. It also mentioned that other countries north of Panama eliminated the same pest decades ago. Sterile flies from a facility in the Central American state have reportedly kept the dangerous insects contained there for years, but they resurfaced in southern Mexico in late 2024.
The AP reports that the USDA will launch a new screwworm fly facility in southern Mexico as early as next summer, with a fly distribution center expected to be operational by the end of this year. This will allow the US to import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary. The department is reportedly allocating approximately $8.5 million for the Texas facility and $21 million to convert a site in southern Mexico, currently used for breeding sterile fruit flies, into a screwworm fly breeding facility.
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