USDA is excited to highlight the launch of the new unified New World screwworm (NWS) website, screwworm.gov. This dynamic new site centralizes NWS information available across the Federal Government and reflects the whole-of-government effort to fight this pest through implementation of USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ comprehensive 5-pronged plan.

"To ensure timely and effective communications, this new unified website will be a one-stop shop for all screwworm related information and will help our stakeholders be better informed as new information comes available,” said Secretary Rollins. “We are grateful for the robust interagency collaboration, and we continue to work every day with our State and industry partners to implement our screwworm plan. This is a national security priority and it has the full attention of our team.”

Screwworm.gov has targeted resources for a wide range of stakeholders including livestock producers, veterinarians, animal health officials, wildlife professionals, healthcare providers, pet owners, researchers, drug manufacturers, and the general public. It also has the latest USDA-verified information on cases and response activities in Mexico and U.S. preparedness efforts. The website includes information from USDA, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of the Interior, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security, Environmental Protection Agency, and Department of State.

Source: USDA Press Releases, No. 0233.25 (November 21, 2025)

USDA announced the next milestone in the fight against New World screwworm (NWS) – the opening of a sterile fly dispersal facility in Tampico, Mexico. The Tampico facility will allow USDA to disperse sterile flies aerially across northeastern Mexico, including in Nuevo Leon.

There are 2 methods of dispersing sterile insects – aerial dispersal and ground release chambers. Aerial operations are preferred because they allow for dispersal at a steady rate through a large area and also because sterile insects may be dispersed in areas that are unreachable from the ground. Ground release chambers are used when there’s a need to quickly deploy sterile insects outside of the dispersal facility range.

USDA continues to disperse 100 million sterile flies per week in Mexico, but until now, aerial operations have been limited to southern Mexico, necessitating the use of ground release chambers in more northern areas of the country. Mass production and targeted dispersal of sterile flies remain critical components of effective response.

Although Mexico continues to confirm new cases of NWS, the overwhelming majority of these remain in the far southern part of the country, with no significant northward expansion over the past several months. Should that change, the Tampico facility will allow USDA to immediately tackle any cases that occur elsewhere in Mexico.

The two northernmost detections (approximately 70 and 170 miles from the U.S. border, respectively) occurred in Nuevo León, on September 20 and October 5, in young cattle transported from Chiapas, Mexico. Neither of those cases is still active and there have been no additional detections of NWS flies in traps or cases in animals in Nuevo Leon. USDA continues to disperse sterile insects in Nuevo Leon, and will now transition from ground release chambers to aerial dispersal in those areas.

USDA produces sterile flies for dispersal at the COPEG facility in Panama. USDA is also investing $21 million to support Mexico’s renovation of an existing fruit fly facility in Metapa, which will double NWS production capacity once complete. With ongoing support from technical experts from USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Mexico anticipates this sterile fly production to begin as soon as summer 2026.

USDA has also begun construction on a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, that is projected to begin operating in early 2026. APHIS is also expediting design and construction of a sterile fly production facility in southern Texas, with a targeted maximum capacity of 300 million sterile flies per week.

USDA continues to work with Mexico’s agriculture authority, SENASICA, to implement the collaborative NWS action plan and guide trapping, surveillance, and movement protocols to help stop the northward spread of NWS.

Source: USDA Press Releases, No. 0230.25 (November 13, 2025)