Flesh-eating maggot panic in the US: Billions of flies to fight

The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and drop them from planes over Mexico and South Texas to combat flesh-eating maggots.

It was reported that the flies will be sterilized with radiation before being released. This method aims to ensure that the sterile flies mate with females in nature, prevent unfertilized eggs from developing, and eventually eliminate the pest population.

Under the USDA plan, male flies sterilized in a laboratory with radiation would be airdropped over South Texas and southern Mexico. "A cattle weighing 1000 pounds could die from this in two weeks," said Michael Bailey, president of the American Veterinary Medical Association.