Story perspectives

Texas Deploys New Drug, Quarantines Counties Amid Screwworm Outbreak

6/17/2026

Summary

Story summary

FDA issued authorization for nitenpyram tablets to treat screwworm infestations in dogs and cats on June 11.
USDA confirmed twelve screwworm cases—eleven in Texas livestock and one in a New Mexico dog on June 15.
Governor Greg Abbott launched a free online course on June 13 to certify screwworm inspectors.
Texas placed fifteen counties in quarantine zones while Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a memorandum to use dogs, drones, AI for detection.

History

Historical Context

In 1958 the USDA, following Edward Knipling and Raymond Bushland’s sterile-insect technique, began weekly releases of more than 1.5 million sterile screwworm flies, eradicating the pest from the continental United States by 1966. That federal-state partnership resurfaces today as the FDA’s June 11 nitenpyram approval and Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s online inspector course, while USDA teams add drones, AI and dogs to protect livestock.

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Story summary

FDA issued authorization for nitenpyram tablets to treat screwworm infestations in dogs and cats on June 11.
USDA confirmed twelve screwworm cases—eleven in Texas livestock and one in a New Mexico dog on June 15.
Governor Greg Abbott launched a free online course on June 13 to certify screwworm inspectors.
Texas placed fifteen counties in quarantine zones while Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a memorandum to use dogs, drones, AI for detection.

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