Mexico Advances Strategy to Combat Cattle Screwworm

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) convened research and higher education institutions to contribute proposals to the national strategy for controlling and eradicating the cattle screwworm (GBG). Managed by the National Service for Agro-Food Health, Safety and Quality (SENASICA), the initiative began with the workshop Sustainable Measures to Eradicate Cattle Screwworm at the Integral Unit of Services, Diagnosis and Verification (UISDC). Javier Calderón, Director, SENASICA, opened the session, which included specialists in entomology, parasitology, biotechnology, epidemiology, and ecology. 

Calderón highlighted that addressing the GBG requires the combined expertise of academics and technicians to apply science and technology effectively, reinforcing efforts that SENASICA staff have carried out in the south-southeast region since 2024. He recalled that Mexico eradicated the GBG in 1991 following a binational campaign with the United States that lasted around 20 years, which relied on the release of more than 500 million sterile flies.

Currently, SENASICA releases 100 million sterile GBG flies weekly in the south-southeast, and with the refurbishment of the former Moscamed plant in Metapa de Domínguez, Chiapas, the agency expects to produce an additional 100 million weekly by 2026. Calderon said the effort demands precision, efficiency in the field, and innovative strategies involving society at large.

The director noted that science and technology could support new solutions, including digital platforms to track operations and model the pest’s dispersion, development of vaccines, longer-lasting attractants and pheromones, specific traps, natural enemies, and entomopathogenic fungi targeting only the pest. Research on new sterile fly strains could further accelerate eradication compared with 20th-century efforts.

Calderón also emphasized environmentally friendly pest control, particularly protecting pollinators, and highlighted the use of existing technologies, including drones, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, to optimize monitoring and epidemiological surveillance.