other USDA (Food and Nutrition Service), was 

 $11,622,150. This funding permitted the program to obtain 

 the necessary vehicles, equipment, supplies, and person- 

 nel to actively pursue the eradication effort. 



Amblyomma variegatum in Puerto Rico 



The tropical bont tick eradication effort continued to make 

 progress in 1984. There were only seven laboratory- 

 confirmed collections of A. variegatum for 1984. Six of the 

 collections were from cattle and one was from a horse. 

 Two collections were from Cabo Rojo, four were from 

 Ponce, and a single collection was made on the island of 

 Vieques. 



The seven laboratory-confirmed collections in 1984 com- 

 pared to 38 confirmed collections in 1983 and 50 in 1982. 

 At the end of 1984 there were 46 premises under quaran- 

 tine for exposure or infestation by A. variegatum. 



Boophilus Tick Eradication in Texas 



The cattle fever tick situation continued to look good in 

 1984. Compared to recent years tick eradication activities 

 were successful and relatively uneventful. There were no 

 major outbreaks of Boophilus ticks in either the Tick 

 Eradication Quarantine Area or the Free Area. 



During 1984, 163 animals originating from Mexico were 

 apprehended by Tick Eradication personnel along the 

 Texas-Mexico border. This included 95 cattle and 68 

 horses of which 31 of the cattle and 15 of the horses were 

 infested with Boophilus ticks. 



The weather in 1984 was drier than normal. As a result, 

 the Rio Grande River was low. Because of this, the stray 

 livestock were allowed to cross the river into Texas. The 

 smuggling of livestock continued as a problem with the 

 threat of the introduction of Boophilus ticks being greater 

 from smuggled Mexican livestock than from stray Mexican 

 livestock. 



Veterinary Services Committee on the Importation of 

 Zoological Animals (VSCIZA) 



A committee of experts were formed in 1984 to review the 

 policies, regulations, and legal authorities involved in the 

 importation of wild zoological animals into the United 

 States. This committee also addressed the issue of ec- 

 toparasites entering the United States on nonregulated 

 zoological animals. 



Several incidents have occurred in recent years involving 

 exotic ectoparasites found on unregulated animal species 

 after importation into the United States. Animal health 



authorities expressed concern that these unregulated wild 

 zoological animals had the potential of introducing both 

 foreign animal diseases and exotic vectors. These in- 

 troduced parasites and diseases could become established 

 in the United States and endanger domestic livestock as 

 well as native wildlife. 



The VSCIZA carefully reviewed the overall problem and 

 issued an interim report on September 14, 1984, which 

 made recommendations and options for handling the pro- 

 blem. In November 1984, the recommendations of the 

 VSCIZA were submitted to four committees of the U.S. 

 Animal Health Association (USAHA) at the annual meeting 

 held in Forth Worth, Texas. The four committees of the 

 USAHA which received the proposals included the 

 Epizootic Attack Committee, Foreign Animal Disease Com- 

 mittee, Import-Export Committee, and Zoological Animals 

 Committee. The USAHA issued an overall report in sup- 

 port of the recommendations of the VSCIZA. In early 1985 

 Veterinary Services established another committee to 

 develop regulations to implement many of the VSCIZA 

 recommendations. 



Livestock Tick Research in 1984 



The first full year of operation of the new USDA, ARS, 

 Cattle Fever Tick Research Laboratory at Mission, Texas, 

 produced progress on several research problems. The ef- 

 ficacy of a 50 percent flowable formulation of phosmet was 

 tested by dipping Boophilus annu/afus-i nfested cattle in a 

 vat charged with concentrations of 0.03, 0.06, or 0.1 per- 

 cent active ingredient (Al). The percent control obtained 

 with each concentration was 97, 99, 99.7, respectively. In 

 a related study a dipping vat was charged with 0.06 per- 

 cent Al flowable phosmet to evaluate the stability and 

 manageability of the material in a vat used frequently. The 

 phosmet in the flowable formulation proved to be unstable 

 and in approximately 2 months after the vat was charged, 

 98 percent of the acaricide had apparently been lost 

 through degradation. 



There is continuing concern about the possibility of finding 

 acaricide-resistant ticks. Consequently, laboratory studies 

 continue to evaluate the susceptibility to acaricides of cat- 

 tle fever ticks from outbreaks detected in south Texas and 

 Puerto Rico. Ticks from 10 locations along the Texas 

 border with Mexico and two from Puerto Rico were 

 evaluated and found to be completely susceptible. 



Four experimental plots, each containing approximately 6 

 acres, have been fenced and infested with B. microplus for 

 a small-scale field test of the sterile hybrid male Boophilus 

 eradication technique. This summer, after determining that 

 ticks are well established, hybrid larvae will be released 

 periodically onto cattle in two of the plots while the other 



