President Claudia Sheinbaum inaugurated a sterile fly bio-factory in Metapa de Domínguez, Chiapas, to combat the livestock screwworm pest.
The initiative aims to protect animal health and the livestock economy from a parasite that causes severe tissue damage. This strategy follows a biological control model that successfully eliminated the pest in the U.S. and Panama 30 years ago [5].
Mexican authorities said Mexico and the United States agreed to invest $51 million for a plant of sterile flies to combat the barrenador worm [2]. The facility uses the sterile insect technique, where sterile male flies are released into the wild to prevent the pest from reproducing.
Reports on the plant's scale vary. One source indicates the facility will produce between 60 million and 120 million sterile flies [1]. However, other reports state that 500 million sterile flies will be released starting in June 2026 [3].
There are also contradictions regarding the timeline. Some reports listed the inauguration for late June 2024 [4], while others linked the operational start of fly releases to June 2026 [3]. The current activation in Chiapas marks a critical step in the regional effort to prevent the pest from spreading further north.
The livestock screwworm is a parasitic fly whose larvae infest the open wounds of warm-blooded animals. By flooding the population with sterile males, the government intends to crash the pest population, and eventually achieve total eradication in the region.
“Mexico and United States agreed to invest $51 million for a plant of sterile flies to combat the barrenador worm.”
The collaboration between Mexico and the U.S. highlights the transnational nature of agricultural security. Because livestock pests do not respect borders, the establishment of this bio-factory in Chiapas serves as a biological barrier to protect the multi-billion dollar cattle industries of both nations from a known, eradicable threat.
