Federal regulators cleared generic nitenpyram for emergency use in pets as officials respond to New World screwworm cases in the United States.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Federal regulators on June 11 granted emergency authorization for a drug to treat New World screwworm infestations in dogs and cats, expanding the government’s response to the flesh-eating parasite after its return to the United States.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized generic nitenpyram on an emergency basis for dogs, puppies, cats and kittens that weigh at least 2 pounds and are older than three weeks of age. The drug is manufactured by Felix Pharmaceuticals.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the authorization gives pet owners a fast treatment option while supporting broader containment efforts.
The authorization “puts an affordable, fast-acting treatment in the hands of pet owners, strengthens our containment strategy, and helps stop this destructive parasite from spreading further in the United States,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The New World screwworm fly was officially eradicated from the United States in 1966 through a control strategy centered on the release of sterile male flies. Those males mated with females, producing infertile eggs and helping eliminate the pest from the country.
The parasite has appeared only rarely in the United States since then. But officials have been monitoring its movement north in recent years, and a case was confirmed in a calf in Texas, authorities announced June 3. Multiple additional animal cases have since been identified.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said Thursday that the agency had spent nearly a year preparing for the possible arrival of the screwworm.
The FDA has issued emergency authorizations for 10 drugs and conditional approvals for three others, Diamantas said.
One of those products is Dectomax, an injectable drug cleared in mid-May to prevent and treat screwworm infestation in dairy cattle, swine, horses, sheep and deer.
Zoetis, the company that makes Dectomax, says on its website that the product is “the only non-prescription conditionally approved parasite control product labeled for prevention and treatment of infestations caused by New World screwworm larvae in cattle, and prevention of reinfestation for 21 days.”
The federal control strategy also includes releasing sterilized male screwworm flies to disrupt reproduction.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said this week on X that officials are deploying 4 million sterile flies by air and another 4 million on the ground each week in Texas.
The screwworm threat also drew questions on Capitol Hill.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, asked Rollins on Wednesday whether a vaccine could help control the spread of screwworm.
“The screwworm is a flesh-eating pest, and not a virus or a disease,” Rollins said.
Rollins pointed instead to sterile fly technology, the antiparasitic drug ivermectin and other treatments, saying those tools would “probably serve like a vaccination.”
Grassley then raised concerns that other Cabinet members “don’t like vaccinations” and urged Rollins to make decisions based on agricultural expertise.
“I expect you to speak for agriculture and not listen to any of those other people that might be trying to convince you that for the screwworm thing, we shouldn’t be vaccinating. Because they don’t know anything about agriculture. You do. And you shouldn’t be listening to them. And if you’re getting pressure from higher up to do that, let me know so I can defend you,” Grassley said.
Rollins said there was no such pressure.
The FDA’s latest emergency authorization adds dogs and cats to the list of animals covered by federal treatment measures as agencies work to contain the parasite and prevent broader spread.
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