USDA Deploys 10 Million Sterile Flies Weekly to Contain Texas Screwworm as Beef Price Fears Rise
Updated
Updated · POLITICO · Jun 8
USDA Deploys 10 Million Sterile Flies Weekly to Contain Texas Screwworm as Beef Price Fears Rise
3 articles · Updated · POLITICO · Jun 8
Summary
10 million sterile flies are now being dropped weekly in Texas as USDA and state officials race to contain New World screwworm after a second cattle case was confirmed.
USDA has also stepped up border and field surveillance, auditing Mexico’s controls and using mounted patrols, dogs and local monitoring to determine how widespread the infestation is.
Brooke Rollins said the parasite poses no food-safety risk and argued newer detection and treatment tools should prevent the kind of herd losses and beef-price spikes feared after the U.S. detection last week.
A January 2025 USDA analysis estimated a full Texas infestation could cost producers more than $732 million, but officials say that scenario assumed prolonged cattle-movement shutdowns that are not yet indicated.
The outbreak still carries political and economic risk ahead of the midterms, with GOP lawmakers warning wild animals may keep carrying the flesh-eating pest across the southern border.