NATIONAL TICK SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM 

 CALENDAR YEAR 1972 



During calendar year 1972 the collection 1971. There were 3,645 species collections in 

 and subnnission of ticks from native and im- 1972, compared with 4,247 in 1971. 

 ported animals were 14 percent less than for 



THE ALICE, TEXAS BOOPHILUS OUTBREAK 



On August 22, 1972, cattle fever ticks 

 {Boophilus sp.) were found on cattle in a 

 livestock market at Alice, Tex. As a result of this 

 disclosure, by the end of 1972 a total of 64 

 infestations were detected, 63 in Texas and one 

 in Imperial County, Calif. The infestations in 

 Texas involved a county 400 miles northwest of 

 Alice, another 300 miles northeast, and another 

 county 100 miles west of Alice. Parts of six 

 counties in the Alice area have been placed 

 under both State and Federal quarantine. A 

 total of 85 State and Federal inspectors has been 

 assigned to the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication 

 Task Force, Alice, Tex. The duties of the per- 

 sonnel involved in this program include: (1) in- 

 spection to determine location of infested pre- 

 mises, (2) carrying out inspection for move- 

 ment, and (3) tracing movements from infested 

 and exposed premises. 



The Boophilus outbreak in the Alice, Tex., 

 area is the most serious "break" in the protec- 

 tive quarantine zone in more than 30 years. 

 State and Federal regulatory personnel are con- 

 tinuing a very active program in 1973 to contain 

 and eradicate all infestations connected with the 

 Alice tick outbreak. 



In addition to unexpected tick outbreaks 

 such as the one at Alice, each year a number of 

 tick infestations are expected to be found in the 

 quarantine zone separating Texas from Mexico. 

 The United States maintains a permanent quar- 

 antine zone or barrier along the Rio Grande 

 River to protect the cattle fever tick free area of 

 Texas from the tick infested area of Mexico. For 

 example, during the last half of calendar year 

 1972, 33 infestations of Boophilus ticks were 

 found in eight counties along the Rio Grande 

 River. This activity is comparable to the same 

 period of time in the preceding year. 



GULF COAST TICK IN OKLAHOMA 



An unusually heavy outbreak of Gulf Coast of 1972. Entomologists from Oklahoma State 

 ticks (Amblyomma maculatum) was reported University found the ticks on livestock in at 

 from Oklahoma during the spring and summer least 15 counties in the State. 



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