Following a push from Heinrich, the USDA announced it will build a new sterile fly dispersal facility to curb the growing New World screwworm
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration, welcomed the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement that it will begin construction on a new domestic sterile fly dispersal facility to combat the growing New World screwworm (NWS) outbreak in Central America that threatens to spread to and wreak havoc on the U.S. cattle industry.
Heinrich joined U.S. Senators Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) last month to introduce the Strengthening Tactics to Obstruct the Population of Screwworms (STOP Screwworms) Act, legislation to authorize funds for and direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to begin construction on new facilities to combat the spread of the NWS.
“I’m pleased the USDA has listened to our calls and is putting $8.5 million into a new sterile fly dispersal facility to stop the spread of the New World Screwworm and help prevent future outbreaks. I will always fight to protect New Mexico livestock, wildlife, and our community’s food supply,” said Heinrich, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, and the Food and Drug Administration.
Background:
The New World screwworm (NWS) is a parasitic fly whose larvae feed on livestock, wildlife, and in rare cases, humans, and populations of NWS are moving toward the United States at an alarming rate. They can cause serious damage to their host, including death. In May, the USDA announced the suspension of live cattle, horse, and bison imports through the southern border in response to the growing spread of the NWS and recent outbreaks in Mexico.
The new facility announced by the USDA will disperse sterile male screwworm flies into infested areas to help combat the spread of the screwworm. The sterile fly technique was instrumental in eradicating NWS from the United States in the 1960s and from Mexico in the ‘90s, as sterile male flies can outcompete local populations and effectively wipe out an entire generation of screwworms in a given area.
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