Cattle are the preferred host for the Cattle Fever Tick, but white-tailed deer and several exotic ungulates including nilgai antelope serve as hosts.
The technical name for Texas cattle fever is bovine babesiosis, a name related to the organisms that infect the red blood cells of cattle, (scientific names Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis). It is their destruction of the red blood cells that results in anemia, fever and death.
There are two closely related tick species capable of transmitting these pathogens, one called ‘the cattle tick,’ Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, and the other called ‘the southern cattle tick,’ R. microplus.
Recent expansion of Cattle Fever Tick infestations have resulted in quarantines in Texas counties away from the border counties which comprise the permanent fever tick quarantine zone.
Educational Resources:
- Cattle Fever Ticks: Answers to Commonly Asked Questions
- Cattle Fever Ticks – Informational Factsheet
- The Tick App Website for Mobile Devices
- Cattle Fever Tick Quarantine Areas
- Cattle Fever Ticks and Cattle Fever (pictures and information)
- TAHC: Cattle Fever Ticks – Frequently Asked Questions
- TAHC: Texas Cattle Fever Tick Brochure
- For Native & Exotic Wildlife Inspection
In the News:
Extension Contacts:
- Tick-related questions: Dr. Swiger, 254-968-4144, slswiger@ag.tamu.edu
- Livestock management questions: Dr. Paschal, 361-265-9203, joe.paschal@ag.tamu.edu
- For more information about the disease: Dr. Hairgrove, 979-845-5419, tbhairgrove@tamu.edu
