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Cattle parasite linked to Asian long-horned tick detected in Kansas
A new red blood cell parasite, Theileria orientalis Ikeda, associated with the Asian long-horned tick has been detected in Kansas.
Gregg Hanzlicek, associate director of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory tells Brownfield a common symptom in calves is a yellowing of the mucous membranes.
“Basically the body is starved of oxygen because we don’t have enough red blood cells to carry the oxygen to the tissues.”
The organism can also cause anemia and more serious respiratory issues and does not respond to modern-day antibiotics. Hanzlicek says livestock producers should be cautious when bringing new cattle into their herds.
“If you have ticks on animals I would highly recommend if you don’t know what kind of tick it is, that you send it to the diagnostic lab to make sure you do not have this Asian long-horned tick in your herd,” he says.
Affected cattle were brought into Kansas from Virginia, where the disease was discovered in 2017. While the Asian long-horned tick is the primary vector, Hanzlicek says the disease can also be spread other ways.
“Within a herd, multiple use needles that aren’t disinfected or cleaned is number one, but also tattoo pliers, ear taggers. There’s also some thoughts that horse flies, stable flies and deer flies can carry it. There’s also some indication that lice can carry it,” he says.
The tick has not been found in Kansas, but has been detected in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
AUDIO: Gregg Hanzlicek, Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
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