"In 1991, the Mexican state of Chiapas was the epicenter of the first eradication of the cattle screwworm infestation in history. An old sterile fly plant, which operated for about seven years in Chiapa de Corzo about nine miles from the capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez once produced millions of flies that achieved that initial victory over the pest. Now, 34 years later, the same disease is causing alarm in North and Central America."
"The sterile insect technique is a form of birth control for the population; it tries to prevent more insects from being bornGeneticist Salvor Meza On the Chiapas side, in the large Metapa de Dominguez complexlocated just over a mile from the border with Guatemala and about 19 miles from the city of Tapachulaa large scientific and technical community made up of geneticists, agronomists, veterinarians, and other professionals work every day to manufacture millions of sterile Mediterranean flies, a species that damages more than 250 types"
An early sterile fly plant in Chiapas eradicated cattle screwworm in 1991 by producing millions of sterile flies. A resurgence of the disease across North and Central America has prompted a major response. Mexico and the United States are converting a 14-hectare complex in Metapa de Dominguez into Moscamed, a modern facility planned to produce 100 million sterile flies by July 2026. Panama’s Copeg plant is currently supplying sterile Cochliomya hominivorax flies while operating at maximum capacity. The sterile insect technique reduces insect births to control pests and the myiasis risk. Metapa will house multidisciplinary teams to manufacture sterile Mediterranean flies that target crop-damaging species affecting hundreds of fruit and vegetable types.
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