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VeterinarySterile Flies, Drones and Rabies Baits
Twenty flashcards on how USDA fights screwworm and rabies from the air, with facilities already working.
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20 cards
- Only New World screwworm sterile fly plant running in North America?
- COPEG in Panama, run and funded jointly by USDA and Panama's agriculture ministry.
- How many sterile flies does COPEG produce?
- About 100 million a week.
- Second sterile fly plant, in Mexico?
- Metapa: a converted fruit fly facility, completed late June 2026, ramping up to 100 million flies a week.
- US sterile fly dispersal facility completed in February 2026?
- Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas, celebrated February 9, 2026.
- Dispersal capacity at Moore Air Base?
- Up to 100 million sterile flies a week, along the border and into the US.
- What did the Moore facility cost, and what does it send out?
- US$8.5 million; it deploys more than 80 million sterile flies a week over Texas and Mexico.
- Newest dispersal center, opened October 2026?
- Hermosillo, Mexico, reaching Sonora and north into New Mexico.
- What happens at the Tuxtla Gutierrez site in Chiapas?
- Sterile pupae from Panama hatch into flies there and are released across southern Mexico.
- Dispersal center opened in November 2025?
- Tampico, Mexico, for aerial releases over northeastern Mexico, including Nuevo Leon.
- Contract for a US sterile fly production plant?
- Signed March 9, 2026 by USDA and the Army Corps of Engineers with Mortenson, at Moore Air Base.
- How fast did USDA react to the first case in Texas?
- Sterile flies over the case within 24 hours; more planes moved to Texas within 72 hours.
- What is NovoFly?
- A USDA screwworm strain that yields only males, the key sex for the sterile fly method.
- New ways of sterilizing flies under test?
- Electron beam at Texas A&M and next-generation X-ray irradiators at the University of Florida.
- Drones in the screwworm search?
- Since June 3, 2026, over 1,000 drone flights in Texas have observed more than 20,000 animals.
- Traps watched in the US?
- Since July 2025, over 100 screwworm traps and 8,000 insect traps in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California.
- New animal drugs for screwworm since August 2025?
- 11 FDA emergency use authorizations and 3 conditional approvals, where before there was no approved treatment.
- Who can issue screwworm treatment and movement certificates in Texas?
- Certified inspectors from a USDA program with the Texas Animal Health Commission and Texas A&M AgriLife.
- How are rabies vaccine baits for wildlife spread?
- By airplane over rural areas; by helicopter, vehicle and bait stations in towns and cities.
- What does a RABORAL V-RG bait look like?
- A two-inch plastic sachet coated in fishmeal; if you touch one, wash with warm water and soap.
- Biggest 2026 bait drop, and the second bait being tested?
- About 729,000 baits over western Pennsylvania from North Lima, Ohio; ONRAB is in field assessment.
Official sources
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
Sterile Fly Production and Dispersal Facilities
U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS
USDA Announces Completion of Sterile Fly Dispersal Facility in Texas (February 9, 2026)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS
USDA Continues To Lead Aggressive National New World Screwworm (NWS) Response
U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS
USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Advance New World Screwworm Preparedness with New Texas Sterile Fly Facility Contract (March 9, 2026)
U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS
USDA Conducts 2026 Oral Rabies Vaccination Efforts Targeting Wildlife in Eastern United States (July 31, 2026)
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