Source: Texas Animal Health Commission
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) has confirmed the presence of cattle fever ticks on a Live Oak County premises on Nov. 30, 2016. The infested premises is approximately 110 miles outside of the Permanent Fever Tick Quarantine Zone.
The ticks were discovered on a bull by a local veterinarian and identified at the TAHC State-Federal Laboratory. The infested premises has been placed under quarantine and all cattle on the premises have started treatment. TAHC is conducting an epidemiological investigation to determine the source of the fever ticks and trace outs.
A Control Purpose Quarantine Area (CPQA) has been established for systematic inspection of livestock and wildlife hosts in the portion of Live Oak County surrounding the infested premises. Producers located in the identified CPQA are being contacted by TAHC and USDA personnel.
With the addition of Live Oak County, there are now four CPQAs outside of the Permanent Fever Tick Quarantine Zone, located in Jim Wells, Kleberg and Willacy counties. At present, there are approximately 450,000 acres under various types of fever tick quarantine outside of the Permanent Quarantine Zone, including a Temporary Preventative Quarantine Zone in Cameron County.
Cattle fever ticks, also known as Rhipicephalus (formerly Boophilus) annulatus and R. microplus, are a significant threat to the U.S. cattle industry. These ticks are capable of carrying the protozoa, or microscopic parasites, Babesia bovis or B. bigemina, which cause the disease commonly known as cattle fever. The babesia organism attacks and destroys red blood cells, causing acute anemia, high fever, and enlargement of the spleen and liver, ultimately resulting in death for up to 90 percent of susceptible naive cattle.
For more information about cattle fever ticks visit http://www.tahc.texas.gov/news/brochures/TAHCBrochure_FeverTick.pdf.