March 19, 2021

USDA partners with Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture to eradicate cattle ticks

The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) announced that cattle ticks resistant to multi-pesticide have been eliminated using a vaccine in a dairy and beef production farm in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico.

Multi-pesticide resistant southern cattle ticks, or tropical cattle ticks, were detected in Yabucoa in August 2020 and was immediately considered a threat to the cattle industry. ARS researchers partnered with the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture to establish an ad-hoc research team in the island to manage and prevent the multi-pesticide resistant cattle ticks from spreading to other parts of the island.

The bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis in the Puerto Rico cattle population are known to be caused by tropical cattle ticks. Both diseases caused significant morbidity and mortality in herds, with bovine babesiosis being the most severe. In the Puerto Rico dairy industry, death due to tick borne diseases alone was estimated to cost the industry US$6.7 million per year in 2005, approximately 3.3% of the total value of all marketed milk.

"During the ARS research team's first visit to the Yabucoa index farm, we found that 82% of the cattle, or 615 animals, were infested with multi-pesticide resistant ticks. But by the third visit, only 1% of the cattle, or eight animals, were infested with ticks," said lead ARS researcher Dr Robert Miller.

"No ticks have been found on the farm for the past three months. The vaccine was used in small research trials on the island before gaining approval for use on cattle in Puerto Rico in 2016," said Dr. Fred Soltero, APHIS area veterinarian in charge for Puerto Rico. "This project provides many benefits to the dairy and beef industries in Puerto Rico, as it has developed alternative methods of tick control that are safer for human use and do not produce harmful environmental impacts.

"It also reduces the intervention time so it is more economical for the producers. Current trade, as well as meat and milk production, will not be affected by the vaccine and pesticide treatment. The products used in this research are safe and approved for use in dairy (lactating and non-lactating) and beef cattle."

"All cattle shipments from Puerto Rico to the US mainland must undergo an APHIS Tick Quarantine and be accompanied by tick treatment inspection," said Ramón González Beiró, secretary of the Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture.

 - Beef Magazine