Texas Biomedical Research Institute is partnering with Flyttr, a UK-based biotech company, to fight the New World screwworm fly that is now threatening wildlife in Texas and its $41 billion cattle industry.
Combating the Screwworm Threat
The New World screwworm is a parasitic fly that lays eggs in the open wounds of warm-blooded animals, which can be fatal if left untreated. Although the fly can target humans and house pets, livestock and wildlife are most susceptible, with a low public health risk according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The insect was eradicated in the U.S. and Central America by the early 2000s through the sterile insect technique (SIT), where a large number of sterile male insects are introduced into the population to shrink it over time. However, the fly was detected in Mexico in 2024 and has since migrated towards the U.S.-Mexico border, with the first confirmed case in Texas since 1966 found in Zavala County.
Experts predict that it could take 500 million sterile flies released weekly to control the current outbreak. A sterile-fly-releasing facility is being built in Edinburg, Texas, but it won’t open until 2027 and won’t meet the production levels needed for eradication on its own.
Texas Biomed President Dr. Larry Schlesinger stated that the partnership with Flyttr could result in a sterile-fly-releasing facility in San Antonio, but plans are still in progress. Flyttr will use Texas Biomed’s biosafety labs to study next-generation genetic approaches to traditional SIT techniques.
Original reporting: San Antonio Report — read the source article.
