USDA seeks to combat spread of New World screwworms into U.S.

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June 18 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Wednesday announced a plan to enhance the agency's ability to detect, control and eliminate the New World screwworm, including an $8.5 million fly dispersal facility in South Texas.

The screwworm, which affects livestock, wildlife, pets and, in rare cases, humans, has been eradicated from the United States for decades. But it has been detected in Mexico as far north as Oaxaca and Veracruz, about 700 miles away from the U.S. border.

"The United States has defeated NWS before and we will do it again," Rollins said. "We do not take lightly the threat NWS poses to our livestock industry, our economy and our food supply chain. The United States government will use all resources at its disposal to push back NWS, and today's announcement of a domestic strategy to bolster our border defenses is just the beginning.

"We have the proven tools, strong domestic and international partnerships, and the grit needed to win this battle."

Rollins appeared at the dispersal facility groundbreaking at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas. The agency plans to have the building completed later this year.

The facility will provide an additional 60 million to 100 million sterile flies a week to stop the spread, on top of more than 100 million already produced in Panama.

She met with cattle fever tick riders along the Rio Grande River. If the NWS advances northward into the United States, these tick riders "will play a crucial role in spotting and combating this pest," an agency news release said.

"Texas is on the front lines of the threat posed by the New World screwworm," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said. "Proactive measures like this dispersal facility are a critical step to ensure our state and nation are prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to this challenge."

The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association backs the USGA plan.

"Today's announcement is pivotal in protecting the U.S. cattle industry," Stephen Diebel, executive vice president, said. "Sterile flies are the only known way to stop the reproduction and continued expansion of New World screwworm, and it's assuring to see Secretary Rollins follow through her early commitments to increasing production of sterile flies domestically."

Ethan Lane, vice president of government affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association told Brownfield Ag News: "We have some resources to slow that spread in Mexico. We need all of Mexico's cooperation in order to achieve that. That means not just allowing the planes to get down there and disperse the flies but the monitoring, the movement controls, the wildlife aspect of this."

The USDA recently spent $21 million to help renovate an existing fruit fly production facility in Metapa, Mexico.

USDA will support Mexico's strategic trapping along the shared border. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service cattle fever tick riders will work with U.S. Customs & Border Protection and state partners to intercept and treat stray and illegally introduced livestock.

USDA plans to remove any federal regulatory hurdles for sufficient treatments and work with state officials on emergency management plans in states including Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.

Besides building the insect dispersal facility, the USDA is exploring other options to eradicate the insect. That includes using new technologies and also building another fly-production center at Moore Air Base. That facility could boost domestic sterile fly production by up to 300 million flies per week.

The USGA also is studying the development of better traps and lures, as well as assessing strains or genetically modified versions of the pest that could help in eradication efforts.

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