Mexico, U.S. open factory to produce sterile flies for livestock parasite control

Mexico and the United States jointly inaugurated a significant facility in Chiapas, southern Mexico, dedicated to combating a livestock parasite. The $61 million factory will produce sterile flies, a key component in eradicating the New World screwworm (NWS), a species whose larvae attack the flesh of livestock, potentially causing death.

The sterile insect technique employed by the factory aims to disrupt the NWS reproductive cycle. By releasing millions of sterile male flies, they mate with wild females, rendering them unable to produce viable offspring. This method was successfully used by the U.S. to eradicate the parasite in 1966, although a limited outbreak affecting deer populations occurred in Florida in 2016.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. The collaborative effort to construct the facility was completed in less than a year. Once operating at full capacity, the plant is projected to generate 10 million sterile flies weekly. A similar facility is already operational in Panama.

Mexico reported its first NWS case in Chiapas in 2024. The parasite lays eggs in open wounds or mucous membranes of warm-blooded animals, and the hatching larvae consume living tissue. Without treatment, NWS infections can be fatal and spread rapidly. The U.S. had previously banned livestock trade with Mexico last summer due to concerns over infected cattle.