By Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced plans on Wednesday to open a sterile fly dispersal facility in Hidalgo County, Texas, as part of its effort to fight the encroachment of New World screwworm.
The pest, a species of fly that has been eradicated in the U.S. for decades, has been moving northward in Mexico, leading the USDA to close the nation’s southern border to cattle imports in May.
Mexico has also taken efforts to limit the spread of the pest, which can infest livestock and kill within weeks.
One key tool to fighting the pest is the release of sterile flies, which reduce the mating population of the wild flies.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in WashingtonEditing by Matthew Lewis)
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