Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times(emphasis ours),

U.S. officials broke ground for a New World Screwworm (NWS) sterile fly production facility in Texasto combat the flesh-eating parasites, which have spread across Mexicoand pose a significant threat to America’s livestock, wildlife, and public health.

Located in Moore Air Base, Edinburg,the facility “is being built with an aggressive timeline designed to quickly expand the nation’s sterile fly production capacity,”the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in an April 17 statement.

Initial operations are set to start from November 2027, hitting production of 100 million sterile flies per week.“Construction continues immediately beyond initial operations to scale full production capacity to 300 million sterile flies per week,”the department added.

NWS femaleflieslay eggs on orifices or wounds of warm-blooded animals, which later hatch into larvae. The larva burrows deep into wounds, feeding on the host’s flesh.

The wound grows larger as more eggs are hatched and more larvae feed into the flesh, with the animal eventually dying. A single female fly can lay up to 3,000 eggs in its lifetime. Large swarms of the parasites coming in from Mexico pose a significant threat to America’s livestock industry.

Currently, the closest active cases to the U.S.-Mexico border have been reported in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, located less than 70 miles from the border.

Swarms of NWS flies can be countered by releasing sterile male flies into the group. When male flies mate with females, they end up laying unfertilized eggs. Over time, the swarm diminishes, warding off the threat.

In its recent statement, USDA said it already produces sterile flies at a facility in Panama that outputs 100 million insects per week. Moreover, the agency has invested $21 million into a Mexican facility, which is set to become operational this summer.

The Moore Air Base facility, with its maximum output of 300 million sterile flies per week, boosts America’s efforts to counter the NWS threat.

Source: ZeroHedge News