USDA opens new Tampico facility to intensify fight against new world screwworm

USA – The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened a new sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico, marking a major escalation in efforts to contain the northward spread of the New World screwworm (NWS) and protect U.S. livestock from the deadly parasite.

The facility enables USDA to conduct the first full-scale aerial releases of sterile flies across northeastern Mexico. 

Until now, aerial operations had been restricted to southern Mexico, forcing teams to rely on slower ground-release chambers in the north.

“The opening of the Tampico sterile fly dispersal facility is another incredibly important tool in our arsenal to stop the spread of screwworm,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins. 

“The facility will ensure flexibility and responsiveness in northern Mexico, giving us a greater ability to drop sterile flies and continue to push the pest south.”

USDA currently disperses about 100 million sterile flies per week across Mexico. With aerial deployment now possible closer to the U.S. border, officials say they will be able to respond far more quickly to any emerging cases. 

The two northernmost detections, found in young cattle transported to Nuevo León on September 20 and October 5, are no longer active, and no additional NWS flies have been trapped in the area.

Rollins said she recently met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué to reinforce joint protocols. 

“We are boosting our efforts and completing a joint review of our screwworm operations in Mexico to ensure our protocols are being followed,” she said.

New investments and cross-border expansion

The sterile flies released from Tampico continue to be produced at the COPEG facility in Panama, a long-standing U.S.–Panama partnership. 

To increase global output, USDA is investing US$21 million to support the renovation of an existing fruit fly plant in Metapa, Mexico, which will double NWS sterile-fly production when operational in 2026.

The Tampico opening complements a broader U.S. strategy to strengthen domestic preparedness. 

Construction is underway on a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, scheduled to begin operations in early 2026. 

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is also fast-tracking plans for a sterile fly production centre in southern Texas, targeting a capacity of 300 million sterile flies per week.

Despite ongoing detections in southern Mexico, officials report no significant northward spread in recent months. 

USDA and Mexico’s agriculture authority, SENASICA, continue to implement their joint NWS Action Plan, coordinating surveillance, trapping, and animal-movement controls to prevent the pest from approaching the U.S. border.

Sign up HERE to receive our email newsletters with the latest news updates and insights from Africa and the World, and follow us on our WhatsApp channel for updates.