(WASHINGTON) The USDA has announced it is investing $750 million to build a domestic fly facility in Texas to send out 300 million sterile flies per week in the fight against the New World Screwworm. The facility, which will likely take a few years to construct, is one piece of USDA’s plan to combat the flesh-eating parasite, which has been detected in Mexico, just 370 miles from the U.S. border. While the parasite was previously eradicated in the U.S. decades ago, the devastating pest causes serious and often deadly damage to livestock, wildlife, pets, and in rare cases, humans. USDA officials and scientists say the sustained sterile insect dispersal is needed to prevent further hatching of the screwworm larvae.
