The US has allocated $610 million for the construction of a plant for breeding sterile flies
The US authorities are building a plant in Texas for the mass breeding of sterile flies, which will be released into nature to combat a parasite that affects livestock and other warm-blooded animals.
The US authorities are building a plant in Texas for the mass breeding of sterile flies, which will be released into nature to combat a parasite that affects livestock and other warm-blooded animals. The construction contract is worth $610 million, according to Reuters.
We are talking about the meat flies of the New World, the larvae of which feed on the living tissues of animals. To combat them, sterile insects are used: males mate with wild females, but no offspring appear. This allows you to gradually reduce the number of pests.
The enterprise at the Moore base in Edinberg is planned to be launched in the spring of 2027. The U.S. does not currently produce sterile flies, and the country depends on supplies from plants in Panama and Mexico, which together produce about 150 million insects a week.
The mass release of sterile flies should help contain the further spread of the parasite. The first cases of cattle infection in Texas in the current outbreak were identified in June 2026.
This is not a new announcement of the construction: in November, Reuters is talking about the progress of the project and the reasons why the United States was without its own existing production. On the launch in the spring of 2027, the agency reported on August 10.
In March 2026, the Pentagon announced a contract with MA Mortenson to build the factory. Then the cost of the project was estimated at $610 million, and it was planned to complete construction work by December 2028.
The larvae of the American meat fly develop in the living tissues of warm-blooded animals. Females lay eggs in open wounds, after which the larvae begin to feed on soft tissues. Without timely treatment, infection can lead to the death of the animal. The parasite is also capable of infecting goats, horses and pets, and in rare cases, humans.
Earlier, in August 2025, in the United States, a resident of Maryland, who came from Guatemala, revealed the first case of infection with a meat fly larva.
