USDA Advances Sterile Fly Strain to Combat New World Screwworm Outbreak
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is actively working to enhance its response to the New World Screwworm (NWS) outbreak by expanding sterile fly production and developing a new, more efficient strain. The NWS, a parasitic fly that lays eggs in the wounds of warm-blooded animals, has recently re-emerged in the U.S., posing a threat to livestock and wildlife. The USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, in collaboration with university partners, have developed NovoFly™, an all-male strain of sterile screwworm flies. This strain is designed to make the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) more efficient by producing only male flies, which are the primary agents in preventing reproduction of wild females. Currently, the COPEG facility in Panama produces approximately 100 million sterile flies per week, and additional production capacity is being developed in Mexico and at Moore Air Base in Texas. The goal is to reach or exceed the 500 million sterile flies released weekly during the previous U....
