By The U.S. Department of Agriculture is opening a facility in Hidalgo County to help prevent the spread of a potentially deadly pest.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins was in Edinburg Wednesday to announce a plan to open a New World screwworm fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base.
The fly hasn’t been found in the U.S. for several decades, but an outbreak recently occurred in Mexico. Imports of Mexican cattle, horses and bison were halted last month because of the outbreak.
The Hidalgo County facility will produce and release sterile screwworm flies to keep the insect from breeding and spreading further north.
