The factory produces 100 million sterile flies every week

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins attended the opening ceremony of the factory, the result of a cooperation project between the US and Mexico at a cost of more than 50 million USD, on June 27. The facility is expected to produce up to 100 million sterile flies per week to control the number of predatory gray flies or New World screw flies (Cochliomyia hominivorax).

Theo Reuterseven with the Chiapas plant, experts say that the total number of sterile flies will still not be enough to completely eradicate this pest. The new factory opened more than 18 months after Mexico confirmed the first screw maggot case of the new outbreak. The epidemic then spread north to Mexico and reached the United States. In June, the US confirmed its first cases of screw maggots in decades, raising concerns about the livestock industry.

“The two countries defeated the New World maggot fly 40, 50 years ago. We will defeat them again, even sooner than people predict, thanks to the extraordinary work that is about to take place at the new facility,” Ms. Rollins said when inaugurating the Chiapas factory.

The Panama-US Commission for the Eradication and Prevention of Screwworms (COPEG) has warned that screwworms are spreading northwards from 2023, but officials still have difficulty stopping them. To date, this parasite has infected more than 30,000 animals in Mexico.

COPEG’s factory in Panama is operating at full capacity, churning out about 100 million sterile flies every week. In the most recent batch, they were released along the US-Mexico border near Texas. The new factory in Chiapas is expected to double the number of sterile flies released into the environment.

Theo In shortNew World screw maggot flies can detect the smell of blood and animal wounds from a great distance, then lay eggs inside. Maggots hatched from the eggs and eat the host, causing serious injuries and attracting even more flies. In severe cases, the host will become exhausted and even die. A large outbreak could destroy entire herds of livestock and cause scores of wildlife to die.

However, New World screw flies have a major weakness: they only mate once before dying at three weeks of age. Therefore, scientists create sterile male flies and release them into the wild, causing the females to waste their only chance to reproduce.