Government
USDA APHIS, CDC, FDA, TDA, TAHC, state animal-health offices, COPEG, SENASICA, and disaster declarations.
Sources
Official agencies, reporting links, and history.
COPEG
Dedicated New World screwworm eradication and prevention organization with program information, surveillance context, and reference photos.
COPEG.orgAcademic and extension
Texas A&M AgriLife, National Agricultural Library, veterinary manuals, entomology papers, and sterile-insect history.
News and blogs
Farm press, local Texas outlets, national coverage, agriculture blogs, newsletters, and producer association updates.
Broadcast and radio
YouTube, TV clips, radio interviews, podcasts, and transcripts reviewed for useful updates and quotes.
Field signals
Producer reports, submitted photos, county-level concern clusters, travel history, and official reporting redirects.
Editorial review
Every item needs a source URL, publish date, named people and places, confidence rating, quote handling, and a readable summary.
Eradication History
Decades ago, the breakthrough was biological: stop reproduction.
The sterile insect technique worked because female New World screwworm flies mate once.
Species clarity and mass-rearing breakthroughs
USDA researchers established the New World screwworm as distinct from blowflies that feed on dead matter, then developed ways to rear large numbers for research.
VerifySterile insect theory moved into field trials
Edward Knipling's idea was simple and powerful: overwhelm wild populations with sterile males so reproduction fails over successive generations.
VerifyUnited States eradication
APHIS states that sterile insect technique eradicated New World screwworm from the United States in 1966.
VerifyFlorida Keys outbreak eliminated
APHIS cites sterile insect technique as the method that also helped eliminate the small Florida Keys outbreak in 2017.
VerifyThe playbook is back in public view
Current response combines detection, reporting, quarantines or movement controls, sterile insects, facility expansion, and public awareness.
Verify