Effort aims to strengthen New World screwworm prevention across North America

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has opened a new sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico—an expansion officials say will significantly enhance efforts to control and prevent the spread of New World screwworm across the region.

According to the USDA, the facility will allow for aerial dispersal of sterile flies across northeastern Mexico, including in Nuevo León, an area where recent detections in livestock have raised concerns. Until now, aerial operations were limited to southern Mexico, requiring the use of ground release chambers in northern zones.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins called the facility “an incredibly important tool” that will improve the ability to respond quickly to new screwworm cases. Rollins said the U.S. and Mexico recently completed a joint review of ongoing response operations, reaffirming a shared priority to prevent northward spread.

New World screwworm remains mostly concentrated in southern Mexico, and the USDA reported no significant expansion north in recent months. The two northernmost detections—found 70 and 170 miles from the U.S. border earlier this fall—were isolated cases in young cattle transported from southern Mexico and are no longer active.

The USDA currently disperses 100 million sterile flies each week in Mexico. The agency’s long-term strategy includes increased production capacity: a renovated facility in Metapa, Mexico, expected to double sterile fly output by summer 2026, and new U.S.-based facilities under construction in Texas, including a dispersal site at Moore Air Base and a large-scale production center planned for southern Texas.

USDA officials say the expanded infrastructure will strengthen the five-part national plan to protect U.S. livestock, support ranchers, and reduce the risk of the pest moving northward.

The agency continues working closely with SENASICA, Mexico’s agricultural authority, to coordinate trapping, surveillance, and livestock movement protocols.