essentially the conditions are similar, differing only in severity 

 and response to treatment. 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 animal often goes into 

 a coma and dies. In severe outbreaks, mortality may 

 approach 90 percent. Adult cattle are especially susceptible 

 to babesiosis. Unfortunately, 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 immediately initiate a dipping program at 7-or 

 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 preventing the 

 reintroduction of Boophilus ticks is the fact that they are 

 extremely efficient vectors of bovine anaplasmosis. In the 

 Southern States, bovine anaplasmosis is an economically 

 important disease which causes a loss of approximately $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 to 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 reintroduction 

 of Boophilus in the South would greatly diminish the hopes of 

 controlling bovine anaplasmosis. Control of the disease 

 would become more difficult and costly with the presence of 

 Boophilus ticks. 



be easily overlooked because of its gross similarity to D. 

 variabilis. The horses were treated and freed of ticks while in 

 quarantine at the New York Animal Import Center. 



On three separate occasions in 1985, PPQ personnel in New 

 York found live Ixodes pilosus ticks on cut flowers being 

 imported from South Africa. The hosts for /. pilosus in South 

 Africa include cattle, horses, goats, sheep, hogs, and dogs, as 

 well as the bushbuck which is probably the main wild host. 

 The disease relations of /. pilosus are unstudied. 



In another PPQ interception on cut flowers from South Africa, 

 the tick Rhipicephalus capensis was found in the live state on 

 cut flowers. This tick has a broad host range, which includes 

 cattle, buffalos, antelopes, goats, pigs, and dogs. It is found in 

 three diverse bioclimatic zones of Africa and is a vector of 

 Theileria pan/a which produce East Coast Fever in cattle. 



In February 1985, PPQ inspectors at the port of Baltimore 

 found a live Ixodes hexagonus on a load of cork imported 

 from Portugal. This tick parasitizes weasels, ermine, polecats, 

 foxes, hedgehogs, and less commonly, dogs. Unfortunately, 

 the disease relations are unstudied. 



The above interceptions illustrate that one must be alert for 

 the introduction of exotic ticks on plants and inanimate 

 objects, as well as on animals. Both VS and PPQ personnel 

 are encouraged to collect and submit suspected exotic 

 specimens of ticks and other parasites and pests. Animal and 

 Plant Health Inspection Service personnel requiring 

 information on the collection and submission of ticks should 

 carefully review VS Memorandum 558.1, September 8, 1978, 

 for detailed instructions. This memorandum can be obtained 

 from any VS area veterinarian in charge. 



Exotic Tick Interceptions 



Update of Lyme Disease 



During 1985 there were several significant interceptions of 

 exotic ticks by Veterinary Services (VS) and Plant Pest 

 Quarantine (PPQ) personnel along the eastern seaboard of 

 the United States. In September 1985, VS personnel in New 

 York detected a heavy infestation of Dermacentor reticulatus 

 on five carriage horses returning from France. The five 

 horses, originally from the United States, were returning to the 

 United States after a visit to France. While in France the 

 horses became infested with D. reticulatus, a tick common in 

 areas of western Europe and Russia. Dermacentor reticulatus 

 is similar in gross appearance to D. variabilis, a widespread 

 American species of tick. However, reportedly D. reticulatus 

 is a vector of Babesia bovis, B. caballi, B. equi, and 6. canis. 

 Like D. variabilis it has a wide host range, which includes 

 cattle, horses, dogs, a variety of small rodents, and 

 occasionally, birds. Quite possibly D. reticulatus could survive 

 in the United States where populations of D. variabilis are 

 present and thereby pose an additional threat to livestock and 

 wildlife in these areas. Once introduced, the exotic tick would 



Lyme disease, the most recently recognized tick-borne 

 disease continues to receive attention as more is found out 

 about its etiology, transmission, and distribution. First 

 recognized in children in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975, the 

 disease is now known to be present in Wisconsin, Minnesota, 

 California, and Oregon, as well as Europe and Australia. 

 Undoubtedly it will be recognized as even more widespread 

 as research continues on the problem. 



The etiology of Lyme disease was determined in 1982 as 

 Borrelia burgdorferi, a tick-transmitted spirochete. The 

 principal known vectors are Ixodes dammini in the Northeast 

 and limited areas of the Midwest, and /. pacificus on the West 

 Coast. In Europe, /. ricinus is probably an important vector. At 

 present, /. scapularis, a tick common in the Southeast, is not 

 known to transmit the fl. burgdorferi. There is reason to 

 suspect that two other common ticks, Amblyomma 

 americanum and Dermacentor variabilis may play at least a 

 secondary role in the transmission of the disease. 



