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First Post
11-07-2025
- Science
- First Post
Flesh-eating pests are coming. US plans to counter them by releasing millions of flies from planes
The US government is planning to carry out a shocking plan in which they will take millions of sterile New World screwworm flies that they have bred in a facility and dump them over the US-Mexico border. The aim is to kill off the species, which is known to eat the flesh of cows and horses read more A worker holds two small containers of New World Screwworm fly pupae at a facility that breeds sterile flies in Pacora, Panama. The US plans to build another facility near the Mexico border too. COPEG/AP Picture this: Hundreds of millions of flies being dropped from planes. It sounds incredulous — almost like something from a horror movie. But, in fact, the US government actually plans on breeding flies and then dropping them from aircraft in efforts to eliminate a flesh-eating parasite that targets cows and cattle. US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Wednesday (July 9) that the federal government would release millions of sterile male New World screwworm flies into the wild to mate with females and prevent them from laying the eggs. This plan —essentially fighting flies with flies — will help to protect the more than $100 billion US cattle and beef industry from the New World screwworm. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What do we know of this plan? How will it work? We get you all the answers. Fighting flies with flies The US plans to build a fly-breeding facility in Texas near the Mexico border at a cost of $8.5 million in order to combat the menace of New World screwworm (NWS) flies. The new US dispersal facility is expected to be located at the Moore Air Base in Hidalgo County, Texas. Interestingly, this will be the second such facility in the Western Hemisphere, joining one in Panama that had largely kept the flies from migrating further north until last year. 'The United States has defeated NWS before, and we will do it again,' Rollins was quoted as telling a news conference at the South Texas air base with other state and cattle industry officials. Federal officials state that the factory will propagate millions of sterile male screwworm flies and those will be released into the wild. These male flies will then seek fertile females and help prevent them from laying eggs. A worker uses a machine to mix food for the sterile fly breeding programme in Pacora, Panama. COPEG via AP But how will this plan work? The idea behind it is mass sterilisation. In the 1950s, the US government came up with the Sterile Insect Technique, a method that utilised radiation to sterilise male flies. These sterile males were then released into the wild wherein they mated with the female, resulting in unfertilised eggs. Female flies mate only once, so if they pair with a sterile fly, they will be unable to reproduce. No fertile eggs meant no more screwworms. The success of the programme — in 1966, the US officially eradicated the insect, protecting its cattle and beef industry — resulted in similar ones being created for mosquitoes too. As Edwin Burgess, an assistant professor at the University of Florida who studies parasites in animals, told NBC News, 'It's an exceptionally good technology. It's an all-time great in terms of translating science to solve some kind of large problem.' Additionally, it is also more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying copious amounts of pesticide into the air to eradicate this pest. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD About the 'flesh eater' New World Screwworm flies New World Screwworms, scientifically known as cochliomyia hominivorax, is a devastating pest. It draws its name — screwworm — owing to its feeding behaviour as they burrow (screw) into the wound, feeding as they go like a screw being driven into wood. According to Dr Phillip Kaufman, a professor and head of the department of entomology at Texas A&M University, what sets them apart from other flies is that they feed on the flesh of living animals — mostly cows and horses — rather than dead ones. An adult New World screwworm fly sits at rest in this undated photo. AP In some cases, New World Screwworm flies have infected domestic pets and even humans. In fact, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised that individuals in the affected areas who 'spend time among livestock animals, sleep outdoors and have an open wound are at greater risk of becoming infested with [New World Screwworms].' They are endemic to Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and some South American countries. Experts note that these flies cause extensive damage by tearing at the hosts' tissue with sharp mouth hooks. The wound can become larger and deepen as more maggots hatch and feed on living tissue. As a result, NWS can cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal. In drastic situations, the flies can also kill an animal in a matter of one to two weeks and spread to others, posing a threat to the livelihood of ranchers. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dr. Michael Bailey, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association, even told USA Today, 'This can kill a 1,000-pound cow in two weeks.' New infestation moving towards the US Since 2022, years after its eradication from the US, the New World screwworm has once again spread northwards through several countries in Central America. Cases exploded in Panama in 2023 and the fly had reached Mexico by November 2024. American cattle is at risk of the screwworm flies. AP Scientists have said that there are a number of reasons for this — higher temperatures enhancing fly development and survival, and the possibility that females are adapting their sexual behaviour to avoid sterile males. Around 17 million cattle are now at risk in Central America, but the worse is yet to come. Mexico has twice as many cattle, and the spread towards the US continues, where around 14 million cattle would be at risk in Texas and Florida alone. In fact, the US has responded by restricting live animal imports from Mexico, a move denounced by President Claudia Sheinbaum. She said that fears of the worm were overblown, pointing out that a single case in the eastern state of Veracruz had prompted the import pause. 'From our point of view, it is a totally exaggerated decision to close the border again,' Sheinbaum said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies
CTV News
10-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
U.S. again halts cattle imports from Mexico over screwworm pest
In this Jan. 2024 photo provided by The Panama-United States Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Cattle Screwworms (COPEG), a worker drops New World screwworm fly larvae into a tray at a facility that breeds sterile flies in Pacora, Panama. (COPEG via AP) CHICAGO — The flesh-eating livestock pest New World screwworm has advanced closer to the U.S. border with Mexico, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, prompting Washington to block imports of Mexican cattle just days after it allowed them to resume at a port of entry in Arizona. Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in wounds on warm-blooded animals, usually livestock and wild animals. Once the eggs hatch, hundreds of screwworm larvae use their sharp mouths to burrow through living flesh, eventually killing their host if left untreated. Mexico reported screwworms about 370 miles south of the U.S. border in Ixhuatlan de Madero, Veracruz, on Tuesday, the USDA said in a statement late on Wednesday. The agency ordered the closure of livestock trade through southern ports of entry effective immediately. 'Closing the border isn't just justified, it's essential,' said Bill Bullard, CEO of U.S. cattle producers' group R-CALF USA. An infestation in the United States could add to further tightening supplies of cattle, which are at their lowest levels in decades, and also endanger other livestock and household pets. The USDA suspended Mexican cattle imports in May after screwworm was detected about 700 miles from the U.S. border at farms in Oaxaca and Veracruz, Mexico. The agency said last week that it would resume imports on Monday at a port of entry in Douglas, Arizona, as part of a phased reopening of the border because screwworms had not been moving north in Mexico. Now, the USDA needs to see more progress in combating the pest in Veracruz and nearby Mexican states to reopen livestock ports on the southern border, Secretary Brooke Rollins said. Screwworms were eradicated from the United States in the 1960s when researchers released sterilized male screwworm flies that mate with wild female screwworms to produce infertile eggs. The USDA said last month that it would build a sterile fly dispersal facility in Hidalgo County, Texas, and consider a sterile fly production facility. The agency should immediately begin work on a U.S. sterile fly production facility, said Colin Woodall, CEO of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association industry group. 'The New World screwworm's northward movement jeopardizes the safety of American agriculture,' he said. 'We cannot wait any longer.' --- Reporting by Tom Polansek; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Mark Porter
