National Tick Surveillance Program 

 Calendar Year 1986 



During calendar year 1986, the collection and submission of 

 ticks from native and imported animals plus plant and animal 

 material was 55 percent greater than in 1985. There were 

 7,819 collections in 1986; 5,037 in 1985; 7,213 in 1984; and 

 10,207 in 1983. 



Exotics in the United States 



There has long been an interest in exotic animals in the 

 United States, especially those species originating in Africa 

 and Asia. This trend has accelerated in recent years, 

 particularly in Texas. As exotic species have become 

 endangered in their native homelands due to habitat 

 destruction and increasing human population, there has been 

 a sincere desire to preserve these species by providing them 

 habitat in the Unites States. Many of these species come from 

 areas of Africa and Asia not unlike those of the southwestern 

 United States. Ranchers maintain these animals for various 

 reasons, including the propagation of endangered species as 

 a hobby, or to be hunted or harvested for profit. 



The number of ranches with exotics has increased in recent 

 years. In Texas these exotics are often called "Texotics." The 

 Exotic Wildlife Association estimated in 1986 that some 600 

 ranches in Texas had one or more species of exotics. In 1984, 

 a census by the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife 

 revealed 120,201 non-native game animals in Texas with at 

 least 59 species represented. This compares to 71,500 such 

 animals in 1979 and 13,000 in 1963. Preserves are also 

 present in Florida, Hawaii, New Mexico, and other States. 

 Some of the more interesting "Texotics" include sable 

 antelopes, wildebeests, giraffes, oryxes, elands, nilgai, axis 

 deer, sika deer, Pere David's deer, rhinoceroses, and zebras. 



If not properly managed, some introduced species may 

 increase to levels that threaten competing native species of 

 wildlife. Some species may damage or destroy certain types of 

 fragile habitat. A significant hazard with exotics exists if they 

 are not properly inspected and tested, since they have the 

 potential for introducing foreign animal diseases and parasites 

 into the United States. As recently as 1984, Amblyomma 

 hebraeum, a vector of heartwater (Cowdria ruminantium), was 

 found in Texas on black rhinoceroses which had been 

 imported from South Africa. Other potentially hazardous 

 foreign ticks collected from recently imported exotic wild 

 animals in past years include Amblyomma variegatum, 

 Rhipicephalus evertsi, R. pulchellus, R. appendiculatus, R. 

 bursa, and Boophilus microplus. 



It is essential that all imported non-native, game-type animals, 

 particularly the hoofed mammals, be properly quarantined, 

 inspected, tested, and treated before being released on the 

 range with native wildlife and domestic livestock. Many of 

 these species share diseases and parasites with our native 

 wildlife and livestock. Devastating diseases such as foot-and- 

 mouth disease, rinderpest, African swine fever, and African 



horse sickness can be introduced by clinically inapparent 

 carrier animals. Several of the important tick-borne diseases 

 that could be introduced on tick-infested animals include 

 heartwater, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and theileriasis. Federal 

 and State animal health personnel, private veterinarians, 

 wildlife biologists, and animal owners should carefully observe 

 wildlife and livestock and immediately report suspected 

 diseases and parasites to veterinary regulatory officials in the 

 respective States. Veterinary Services Memorandum No. 

 591.24, entitled "Diagnostic Assistance Available to Zoos and 

 Game Farms" (January 13, 1987), is available from the Federal 

 Area Veterinarian-in-Charge of each State. It provides 

 information on the services offered by the National Veterinary 

 Services Laboratories, including the Foreign Animal Disease 

 Diagnostic Laboratory, for the diagnosis of suspected exotic 

 animal diseases and parasites. 



Tropical Bont licit and Heartwater Disease Feasibility Study 



Resolution No. 7 of the 1986 U.S. Animal Health Association 

 meeting urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 

 the Agency for International Development (AID) to fully support 

 the principle of eradication of Amblyomma variegatum in the 

 Caribbean region. 



In late 1986, a study group of 10 persons with representatives 

 from the USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

 (APHIS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Office of 

 International Cooperation and Development (OICD), and Inter- 

 American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) was 

 formed to write a feasibility proposal for management of the 

 tropical bont tick and heartwater in the Caribbean. In addition 

 to the 10 members of the study group, there were 8 specialists 

 from the United States, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, 

 Guadelaupe, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the 

 United Nations (Rome, Italy) added to the study group as 

 consultants. A draft proposal prepared in early December 

 1986 included the following: 



1. An introduction to the problem. 



2. Current information on the distribution of Amblyomma 

 variegatum, heartwater, and dermatophilosis in the Caribbean. 



3. Veterinary infrastructure and animal health regulations. 



4. Economics. 



5. Research requirements. 



6. Management strategies and proposed budget. 



7. Organizational framework. 



In January 1987, a second meeting of the feasibility group was 

 held in Washington, DC. The final version of the economic 



