- The New World screwworm, a parasite thought eradicated from the U.S., reappeared in the Florida Keys in 2016, affecting deer.
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a decades-long effort to eradicate screwworms, using sterile insect technique (SIT) developed by Edward F. Knipling and Raymond Bushland.
- Sterile male screwworms are produced in a Panama facility and released weekly along the Panama-Colombia border to maintain a barrier against reinfestation.
- The eradication program, managed by COPEG (a U.S.-Panama joint commission), involves constant monitoring, inspection, and collaboration across Central America.
- Screwworms once caused significant livestock losses and shaped cowboy culture, but eradication has led to increased wildlife populations, such as deer, in North America.
- The program costs $15 million annually but saves U.S. farmers an estimated $1.3 billion per year, highlighting its economic and ecological benefits.
- Efforts to expand eradication to South America face financial and diplomatic challenges, while containment relies on both science and political cooperation.
- Cuba remains a potential source of screwworm outbreaks due to historical lack of eradication efforts, though recent diplomatic tensions have hindered collaboration.
- The sterile-insect technique has inspired similar programs for other pests, but screwworm eradication remains the most extensive and successful example.