The United States government announced a $21 million investment to renovate a sterile fly production facility in Metapa, Chiapas, to combat the New World screwworm.
The government stated that restrictions on live animal imports from Mexico remain in effect and that, as previously announced, it will continue to evaluate the suspension every 30 days.
“Our partnership with Mexico is crucial to the success of this effort. We continue to work closely with Mexico to keep the New World screwworm out of the United States and Mexico,” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins in a statement.
“The investment I’m announcing today is one of many initiatives my team is tirelessly pursuing to protect our animals, our agricultural economy, and the security of our nation’s food supply,” she added.
Once operational, the facility will produce an additional 60 to 100 million sterile flies weekly to boost the population in southern Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Given the geographic extent of the GBN, this additional production capacity will be crucial to our response.
The agency added that this afternoon Rollins contacted his Mexican counterpart, Julio Berdegué, to discuss the current screwworm threat and the measures both countries are taking to contain it south of the U.S. border.
“USDA works daily with Mexico to ensure the necessary resources, tactics, and tools are available to effectively eradicate screwworms,” he noted.
He added that all the flies currently used are bred at the U.S.-Panama Screwworm Eradication and Prevention Commission’s facilities in Panama, and that the announced investment for Metapa would allow the U.S. government to double its use of sterile insect techniques to combat screwworms.
He reported that the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and its Mexican counterparts continue to hold technical calls and meetings regarding screwworms.
“They are making significant progress in improving surveillance in Mexico, addressing administrative or regulatory obstacles that could hinder an effective response, and ensuring that adequate controls are in place for animal movement to prevent further spread,” he said.
He added that APHIS will send a technical team to Mexico in the coming weeks to assess the situation.
In this regard, the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture (SADER) confirmed in a statement that a USDA mission will visit the country “in the coming days to review the measures agreed upon by both governments, and upon verification, the suspension of livestock exports will be lifted.”
The Mexican government said Secretary Rollins had informed her Mexican counterpart of the approval of U.S. assistance to install a new sterile fly production plant in Chiapas, but did not mention the investment.
SADER stated that the plant is a proposal put forward by Mexico since the beginning of the emergency in November 2024.
It added that a regionalization strategy will be initiated to keep the northern part of the country free of screwworms by strengthening control measures for livestock movement, inspection, surveillance, and treatment.
According to SADER, Berdegué informed his counterpart that the number of new weekly screwworm cases peaked in mid-April and has since decreased by 51.8%, “which demonstrates the effectiveness of the measures that continue to be implemented.”
“The Mexican government is confident that, based on the results on the ground and the technical agreements reached, livestock exports will resume shortly,” he stated.
The USDA reports that this will be to renovate a sterile fly plant and that the suspension of Mexican cattle remains in effect; a technical team will arrive to review progress.
Source: forbes
