According to the USDA’s New World Screwworm Rapid Response X account, the Texas facility is expected to produce 100 million sterile flies per week by the end of 2027. Why sterile flies matterNew World screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, is unlike many other flies associated with wounds. The approach exploits an important part of the fly’s biology: Female New World screwworm flies typically mate only once. Reuters reported that the pest could threaten as much as $1 billion in losses to the Texas livestock industry. That is what makes the USDA’s accelerated Texas facility particularly consequential.