Overview
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first recent domestic detection on June 3 and said three new positive tests over the weekend raised the U.S. total to 15, with 14 in Texas and one linked to New Mexico.
- State and federal teams have set infested and quarantine zones across multiple Texas counties that bar warm‑blooded animals from moving out without Texas Animal Health Commission inspections and movement certificates.
- The USDA has begun sterile‑fly dispersal flights over newly affected areas, said it is releasing tens of millions of sterile male flies weekly to prevent future generations, and officials are accelerating construction of larger production facilities including a planned $750 million site in South Texas.
- The Food and Drug Administration issued emergency veterinary authorizations for treatments, including approval of nitenpyram for dogs and cats and additional drugs for farm animals, to speed diagnosis and care for infected pets and livestock.
- Animal welfare groups warn quarantines could overload rural shelters and lead to mass euthanasia if animals cannot be moved or treated, and experts say eradication hinges on scaling sterile‑fly output, strict inspections and seasonal declines in fly survival.