Several state officials gathered in Edinburg to announce a plan to prevent the screwworm outbreak in Mexico from reaching South Texas.

During a news conference, Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced an $8.5 million initiative to establish a New World Screwworm sterile fly facility at the Moore Air base in Edinburg, according to a news release from the office of De La Cruz.

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According to a news release from the office of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, the initiative is part of Rollins' strategy to "strengthen USDA's current capabilities to detect, control and eradicate the pest."

The screwworm is a type of fly that burrows into open wounds, big or small, on all warm-blooded animals and feeds on living tissue. It has been detected in northern Mexico.