Following the development of resistant tick populations, 

 control becomes much more complicated and many 

 times more costly. 



Second, with the introduction oi Boophilus ticks and 

 the heavy seeding oi large areas, cattle lick fever 

 (babesiosis piroplasmosis) ultimately becomes a seiioi'.s 

 problem. There are several species ol Babesia organisms 

 which produce babesiosis in cattle, but essentially the 

 conditions are similar, differing only in severity and 

 response to treatment. The Babesia destroy the red 

 blood cells causing hemoglobinuria and anemia. This is 

 accompanied by a rise in body temperature, depression, 

 and loss of appetite and body weight. The anitnal often 

 goes into a coma and dies. In severe outbreaks, mortality 

 may approach 90 percent. Adult cattle are especially 

 susceptible to babesiosis. Unifortunately, several drugs 

 which are effective against babesiosis are not currently 

 marketed in the United States since they do not have 

 clearance from the Food and Drug Administration. In 

 the absence of chemotherapeutic agents for use in an 

 outbreak of babesiosis, the best alternative is to immedi- 

 ately initiate a dipping program at 14-day intervals to 



break the life cycle of the tick vector and stop disease 

 transmission by the ticks. 



The third, but often overlooked, reason for prevent- 

 ing the reintroduction of Boophilus ticks is the fact that 

 they are extremely efficient vectors of bovine anaplas- 

 mosis. In the Southern States, bovine anaplasmosis is an 

 economically important disease which causes a loss of 

 approximately .1,50 million a year to the livestock 

 industry. In the South, bovine anaplasmosis is primarily 

 transmitted by biting insects, especially horse flies; 

 whereas, in the Northwestern States it is chiefly tick 

 borne and transmitted by species of ticks not established 

 in the Southern States. Insects are mechanical vectors of 

 Anaplasma marginale, with a limited potential for 

 disease transmission. Some ticks, Boophilus included, are 

 biological as well as mechanical vectors of A. marginale 

 and may transovarially transmit anaplasmosis. The re- 

 introduction of Boophilus in the South would greatly 

 diminish the hopes of ever eradicating bovine anaplas- 

 mosis. Control of the disease would become more 

 difficult and costly with the presence oi Boophilus ticks. 



HUMAN BABESIOSIS 



In recent years at least nine persons on Nantucket 

 Island and one person of Martha's Vineyard, Massachu- 

 setts, have acquired clinical cases of babesiosis (piro- 

 plasmosis).' The causative agent is Babesia microti, 

 which is a common protozoan blood parasite of rodents 

 in North America. Apparently the disease is rather 

 benign in rodents. The humans infected have complained 

 of chills, fever, pain in the muscles and joints, and 

 fatigue and have shown mild to moderate hemolytic 

 anemia. In Massachusetts, no deaths were reported in the 

 humans with this malaria-like disease. 



The laboratory studies of Dr. Speilman of the 

 Harvard School of Public Health suggest that Ixodes 

 scapularis serves as a vector of babesiosis on Nantucket 

 Island. Since /. scapularis is a very common tick in the 

 Southern States and along the Atlantic coast, possibly 

 other cases of human babesiosis have occurred but have 

 not been correctly diagnosed. 



Accorrding to Healy et al,^ human babesiosis has 

 been reported in other areas of the world, and the 

 circumstances surrounding them differ from the cases in 

 Massachusetts. Two documented cases were observed in 

 \ugoslavia in 19.57 and 1969, one from Ireland in 1967, 

 and one from California in 1966. In these four cases, all 

 the patients had previously undergone a splenectomy. 

 Three of the four died; the sunivor received an 

 antimalarial drug, whereas the others did not. The cases 

 in Massachusetts all involved persons with intact spleens. 

 In (icorgia, an asymptomatic babesiosis infection was 

 diagnosed in a human with an intact spleen. 



Persons frec|uenting areas where /. scapularis is a 

 problem should be aware of the possibility of babesiosis 

 transmission by this tick. Human babesiosis should at 

 least be considered in the absence of a specific diagnosis 

 in an illness characterized by chills, fever, fatigue, and 

 painful muscles and joints. Individuals who have had 

 their spleen removed should be especially aware of the 

 potential danger of acquiring babesiosis. 



Speilman, Andrew. 1976. Human Babesiosis on Nantucket 

 Island Transmission by Nymphal Ixodes Ticks. Am. Jour. Trop. 

 Med. and Hyg.: 784-787. 



^ Healy, George R., Speilman, Andrew, Glcason, Neva. 1976. 

 Human Babesiosis: Reservoir of Infection on Nantucket Island. 

 Science 192: 479-480. 



