Screwworm control, trade talks proceed with Mexico

A newly opened sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico, promises to help combat New World screwworm (NWS) in northeast Mexico, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced last week.

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

NWS is a pest that lays eggs in open wounds on mammals. Those eggs turn into flesh-eating...