U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Aug. 15 announced the largest initiative to date in USDA’s efforts to combat New World screwworm (NWS). Making the announcement from the Texas State Capitol alongside Governor Greg Abbott and other stakeholders, Rollins said the investment builds upon USDA’s five-pronged plan issued in June. It includes technology investment, a domestic sterile fly plant, prevention of wildlife migration and helping Mexico stop the spread of NWS within its borders.

When NWS fly larvae burrow into the flesh of a living animal, they cause serious, often deadly damage to the animal. NWS can infest livestock, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds and, in rare cases, people. While a threat to the ranching community, Rollins said NWS is also a threat to the U.S. food supply and national security.

USDA is coordinating efforts to combat NWS, collaborating with:

• the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to encourage animal drug development and prioritize approvals for prevention and treatment of the pest;
• the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy on technological innovations to enhance our ability to combat the pest;
• the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to protect the U.S. border; and
• governors, state ag commissioners, state veterinarians and others.

As part of this comprehensive approach, USDA is taking the following immediate actions:

1. Innovate our way to eradication

While sterile flies are currently the most effective way to prevent the spread of NWS, technology continues to evolve. USDA will invest up to $100 million to rapidly advance technologies promising to augment the U.S. sterile fly facility and accelerate the pace of sterile fly production if proven successful. USDA will support proven concepts that only require funding to scale and implement, as well as a number of longer-term research projects focused on: new sterile NWS production techniques, novel NWS traps and lures, NWS therapeutics that could be stockpiled and used should NWS reach the United States, and any other tools to bolster preparedness or response to NWS.

2. Construction of a domestic sterile fly facility

USDA will construct a sterile fly production facility in Edinburg, Texas, at Moore Air Force Base, an ideal location due to the existing infrastructure and proximity to the United States-Mexico border. Built with the Army Corps of Engineers, the facility will produce up to 300 million sterile flies per week to combat NWS. This U.S.-based sterile fly facility will work in tandem with facilities in Panama and Mexico to help eradicate the pest and protect American agriculture.

“The construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility will ensure the United States continues to lead the way in combating this devastating pest. If our ranchers are overrun by foreign pests, then we cannot feed ourselves.” —Brooke Rollins

“We have assessed the information on the ground in Mexico and have determined we must construct an additional sterile fly production facility in the United States to stop the northward advancement of this terrible pest that is threatening American cattle production,” Rollins said. “President Trump has made it clear that we must take all necessary steps to protect our country from foreign pests and diseases that threaten our economy and way of life.”

Rollins said construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility will ensure U.S. leadership in combating NWS.

“If our ranchers are overrun by foreign pests, then we cannot feed ourselves,” Rollins said. “USDA and Customs and Border Protection are constantly monitoring our ports of entry to keep NWS away from our borders. We are working every day to ensure our American agricultural industry is safe, secure and resilient.”

3. Wildlife migration prevention

Animals don’t know borders, and that leaves the United States potentially vulnerable to NWS from wildlife migrating across the border. USDA is working aggressively to ramp up the hiring of USDA-employed patrol officers mounted on horseback, known as “tick riders,” and other staff who will focus on border surveillance. The tick riders will be complemented by other animal health experts who will patrol the border in vehicles and will provide the first line of defense against an NWS outbreak along the U.S.-Mexico border.

USDA will begin training detector dogs to detect NWS infestations in livestock and other animals at various ports of entry. These dogs will be essential to help control the spread of the NWS. USDA is working closely with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S Customs and Border Protection to monitor the border for NWS-infected wildlife that could pose a threat to the United States.

4. Stop the pest from spreading in Mexico

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is working in collaboration with the National Service of Agri-Food Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA) in Mexico to help them contain the pest south of the U.S. border by enhancing oversight, surveillance, improving case reporting, locking down animal movement to prevent further spread, providing traps, lures, training and verification of Mexican NWS activities. Successful implementation will inform any future trade decisions affecting cattle movements on the southern border, including the potential reopening of border areas.