By John Q. Hosedrinker 
The United States is implementing a plan to combat flesh-eating screwworm maggots by breeding and releasing billions of sterilized male flies over Mexico and Texas. This strategy involves sterilizing male flies via radiation and allowing them to mate with female screwworms, preventing the production of viable offspring. The US Department of Agriculture aims to eradicate the pest, which was previously eliminated from the US in 1966 but has resurfaced, threatening the beef industry and impacting wildlife. A new fly factory in Mexico is planned, along with another in Texas, to significantly increase the production of sterile flies, costing approximately $30 million.
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US to dump billions of flies over Mexico in a $30 million fight against flesh-eating maggots. It’s a real thing, and it’s a bit more complex than you might initially think. It involves a long-standing public health miracle, a collaboration between countries, and, yes, a whole lot of flies. The situation is serious because we’re talking about screwworms, tiny but incredibly destructive parasites.
Screwworms like to burrow into the flesh of living creatures, which is obviously terrible for both humans and animals, especially livestock. Cows, for instance, are particularly vulnerable because they can’t easily get rid of them like we can. The method to combat this is clever and utilizes the flies themselves. The U.S. is releasing billions of sterile flies, essentially a form of biological warfare, against the screwworm population.
Irradiated flies incapable of procreating are the key. These sterile males are released and they do what male flies do: they try to mate. However, since they’re sterile, no offspring result. This strategy, when implemented correctly, drastically reduces the number of new screwworms and can even lead to local eradication. This has been going on for decades, and it’s been remarkably effective.
Unfortunately, keeping the screwworm population at bay, especially across the extensive U.S. border, has its challenges and expenses. The U.S. has had to constantly release these irradiated flies along its southern border to keep new infestations from entering. So, a more efficient and cost-effective plan was devised: to eliminate the problem at its source by targeting the population in Mexico.
At some point, someone had a brilliant idea. Instead of trying to patrol the vast border, wouldn’t it be better to tackle the screwworms in Mexico as well? This would make it more cost effective. The idea was to push the program all the way down to Panama, where the continent narrows. This approach not only protects the U.S. but also significantly benefits farmers in Central America. It’s a case where being helpful to others also saves the U.S. money.
Sometimes, doing the right thing is also the cheapest option, and this is a perfect example. The program worked remarkably well for years, effectively eliminating the screwworm threat in a wide area. But, as we see now, this is not a permanent solution.
However, the screwworms have returned to Mexico and the U.S. must launch a major reinforcement effort to fix it. The program had to be restarted. The outbreak seems to have begun in Central America around 2022. It appears that this resulted in the US having to expand their efforts into southern Mexico again.
The effectiveness of the strategy relies on sterile male flies outcompeting fertile males. This disruption to the natural breeding cycle drastically reduces the screwworm population, hopefully to the point of elimination. The goal is to push the flies further south, allowing Mexico and Central America to be free of the problem.
Now, the $30 million question: why the return of the screwworms? While it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact cause without more information, it can be attributed to mistakes in strategy.
The underlying strategy is sound. It’s an example of innovative thinking and international collaboration. The goal is to establish an area free of the devastating screwworm and improve the health and economic well-being of the whole region.