STEPHENVILLE, TEXAS (RFD NEWS) — As the New World Screwworm moves closer to the U.S. border, an aggressive plan using sterile flies to disrupt its life cycle before it can spread is underway.
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller is sounding the alarm about the rising number of active New World screwworm cases in Mexico, arguing that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) sterile flies will not be enough to stop the spread of screwworms into his state.
“These [new cases] are about 60 miles, so they’re getting very, very close — one goat, several dogs, and the rest were in cattle,” Miller said. “So it’s coming. Unfortunately, we’re not doing enough to stop it. We don’t have enough flies, so the fight to keep it out — I’m afraid — is going to be futile.”
The latest obstacle in the fight against screwworm is that the USDA is managing a limited supply of sterile flies.
USDA officials say it is critical to be strategic about when and where the flies are released — relying heavily on data from the Mexican government to guide those decisions. However, the department says it remains confident the U.S. is protected if the pest is detected here.
In his interview with RFD News on Tuesday’s Market Day Report, Miller doubles down on the need for another preventive measure — fly bait traps — a strategy that conflicts with the USDA’s plan.
“We need to develop a bait. That’s how we eradicated it last time, with a simple fly bait that killed 95% of the screw worm flies,” Miller said, reiterating comments he made in a previous interview with RFD News last year. “USDA is not even considering that. Why? It doesn’t make any sense when we have the tools to stop it, and we’re not using those tools.”
While Miller believes more can be done to prevent the disease, he says Texas officials will continue to monitor the threat.
WATCH SID MILLER’S LATEST INTERVIEW ON SCREWWORM AND TEXAS WILDFIRES:
Miller’s previous interview with RFD News made national headlines and elicited a strong response from the USDA over the most effective ways to prevent the spread of screwworm.
In an exclusive statement to RFD-TV News, USDA officials defended their $750 million plan to build a sterile fly production facility at the southern border— calling it the most aggressive response in U.S. history — and also accused Miller of disregarding proven methods for quick publicity.
“USDA, in conjunction with the entire federal government, has launched the most aggressive plan to combat the New World Screwworm in the history of our country, including committing up to $750 million to build a sterile fly production facility at the Southern Border at Moore Air Base,” the USDA spokesperson told RFD News.
The USDA spokesperson doubled down on their strategy as the most effective and comprehensive approach to New World Screwworm, describing Miller’s comments as a “clickbait publicity stunt” disproven by USDA tests.
“USDA can no longer keep wasting its time and personnel to deploy Commissioner Miller’s infamous traps, which USDA has deployed, tested, and proven ineffective,” the USDA spokesperson told RFD News. “In one month, USDA’s traps in Panama caught thousands of New World Screwworm flies — Commissioner Miller’s traps caught ONE single NWS fly. When presented with the results of his traps underperforming, Commissioner Miller indicated USDA staff should ‘paint them black,’ to which USDA declined. Commissioner Miller is blatantly disregarding tried-and-true NWS offensive strategies in favor of clickbait publicity stunts.” (read more)
That sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base is now fully operational, releasing more than 100 million sterile flies per week. Other USDA sterile fly dispersal facilities are also operational in Tuxtla and Tampico, Mexico. Currently, the USDA’s only fly production facility in operation is located in Panama.
However, the USDA is also partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build a domestic sterile fly production facility at Moore Air Base in Southern Texas, with a projected weekly capacity of 300 million sterile flies. A third sterile fly production facility is also under construction in Metapa, Mexico.
RFD News reached out to USDA officials for further response to Miller’s comments. Stay tuned for updates on tomorrow’s Market Day Report.
For more USDA info on New World Screwworm from USDA, visit: screwworm.gov
