Weekly Vet Report: The veterinary drug turning up in fentanyl, plus more updates

A veterinary sedative is fueling a public health crisis, a nationwide product recall is affecting more than 174 million prep pads, and a new generic for bovine respiratory disease is on the market. Here's what veterinary professionals need to know this week.

Federal health officials are sounding the alarm over medetomidine—a veterinary-only sedative approved for use in dogs—appearing in the illicit fentanyl supply. The CDC and White House drug policy office issued a joint advisory this month based on surveillance data showing the drug has been detected in law enforcement seizures, drug paraphernalia samples, and wastewater testing, with the highest concentrations in the Northeast.¹ The combination has acquired the street name "rhino tranq."

Because medetomidine is a veterinary-only drug, clinics are considered a target for diversion, yet it carries no federal scheduling requirement, meaning there is no Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) mandate to track it. In a recent dvm360 article, Kelley Detweiler, a DEA and regulatory compliance expert, encouraged practices to treat the drug like a controlled substance anyway, storing it securely, logging it separately, and reporting any theft or loss to the DEA and local authorities.

The stakes are significant. According to Detweiler, if medetomidine is diverted from a facility and someone dies, the liability falls on the veterinarian who ordered it. Pennsylvania lawmakers have signaled plans to schedule it as a controlled substance, but no federal action has been taken.

Meanwhile, Cardinal Health has initiated a voluntary nationwide recall of more than 174 million alcohol prep pads after microbial contamination was identified across more than 300 lots. The affected Webcol Large 70% isopropyl alcohol pads (product code 5110) were distributed to facilities in the US, Puerto Rico, and Japan between September 2025 and February 2026. Veterinary facilities that received affected product should verify lot numbers against the recall notice.

And in cattle health, nixiFLOR, the first generic bioequivalent to Resflor Gold, is now on the market for the treatment of bovine respiratory disease, a condition that requires treatment in nearly 1 in 5 beef cattle. The FDA-cleared single-dose injectable combines an antimicrobial and an anti-inflammatory, reducing both chute time and labor costs for veterinary teams.

Reference

1. Medetomidine in the US illegal fentanyl supply increasing risk for overdose and severe withdrawal syndrome. CDC. April 2, 2026. Accessed April 11, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/han/php/notices/han00527.html