About Agricultural Defense
Our Mission
Operation Screwdriver is an Agro-Defense Campaign to confront the New World Screwworm (NWS) threat. Screwworm is a highly destructive pest which infests and feeds on the live tissue of warm blooded animals. It is a threat to livestock, wildlife, pets and humans. An operational campaign supports national biosecurity objectives defined by USDA. Eradicated for decades, Screwworm broke through a biological barrier in Panama in 2023. It rapidly reestablished itself in Central America and Mexico. It was confirmed, in the US near La Pryor, Texas on 03 June 2026.
History: Screwworm Eradication
During the 1930s USDA scientists researched new methods of controlling Screwworm. In the 1950s they successfully used a combination of genetics and nuclear radiation to create a unique interdiction process: Sterile Insect Technique. By the end of the 1960s Screwworm was largely eradicated from the US. However a massive outbreak in 1972 (right) precipitated a change to a regional strategy. That year, the US and Mexico signed an agreement to push the pest southward and maintain a permanent SIT bio-barrier to prevent northward migration. By 2002, Screwworm had been eradicated to the Columbian border and a SIT biological barrier established in Panama. That barrier broke down in 2023.
The Government Response Plan
Phase 1: Improving Surveillance
Success against this generation's Screwworm threat begins with building better fly traps. Self-reporting Wind Oriented Traps (SWOT) integrate lessons learned from the 1970's Screwworm infestation with 50 years of progress in sensing, analysis and reporting capabilities. Rapid testing, evaluation and fielding of new sensors, platforms, networks, and analytics improves the scale, scope and fidelity of collection while reducing manpower, logistics bottlenecks and time-to-eradication.