The federal government is ramping up efforts in Texas to combat the spread of New World Screwworm, a pest that could devastate the cattle and wildlife industries in Texas and the nation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a slew of new initiatives and investments to monitor and prevent the spread of screwworm, which is traveling north through Mexico and was detected about 370 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border in July.
Screwworms are parasitic flies that lay larvae in open wounds of live, warm-blooded animals, causing them serious harm and, potentially, death.
You’re right about the factory, as far as I know, but I think stopping the screw worms in Mexico or further south is a much better idea. Stopping them in the USA means that you will always have cases in the USA.
The sterile fly method isn’t a solid barrier. It just increases the odds that a female will mate with a sterile male rather than a fertile one. That means some females will still reproduce if they mate with a fertile male and cause screw worm infections in cattle, people, or wildlife in the region. You want to stop the flies before they get here otherwise you will continue to have occasional outbreaks here.
I’m hoping at some point we could get South America on board, massively increase funding, and eradicate screw worms as a species. The firewall in Panama is certainly the best point of attack short of that goal.
That would be great for society but in the meantime take advantage of geography. Holding the line in Panama is far cheaper than the much larger land area of the us, plus other countries also get the benefit.
I didn’t read far enough to see if Mexico especially joined in the battle but would certainly be ok with just the us. We save money at the cost of helping others?
Edit: dammit, affecting people? Let’s get this shit done