There was a lot of news, discussion and concern last year when the Asian longhorned tick was identified in southeastern Iowa and subsequently was found in several southeastern and south-central Iowa counties. In some cases, severe death loss occurred from anemia due to heavy tick infestations along with the transmission of Theileria orientalis Ikeda, a protozoan blood parasite carried by the tick.
There is no treatment available for Theileria, so control of tick populations is important for limiting disease occurrence. Tick control focuses on strategic acaricide treatments and pasture management to reduce cattle exposure to brushy areas.
Treatment and prevention strategies are most effective when performed in a targeted manner. Due to limited information regarding the extent of the distribution of this tick in the state, producers and veterinarians are limited in their ability to make informed prevention and treatment decisions. The Diagnostic Parasitology Lab at ISU College of Veterinary Medicine is working to determine the distribution of the ALT in Iowa. Understanding where this tick occurs in the state is critical for implementing effective, risk-based control strategies.
The goal of our project is to better define the current distribution of ALT in Iowa. We are asking cattle producers to submit ticks they find on livestock and/ or allow our team to perform tick surveillance in and around their pastures.
Our surveillance efforts are focused on southeast Iowa, where the ALT has already been confirmed, but we welcome submissions from all Iowa counties.
If you notice ticks on your cattle or around your premises, collect samples and submit them to the ISU Parasitology Lab. Tick identification will be performed at no charge.
We are particularly interested in ticks collected from animals with heavy burdens, as the ALT typically causes heavy infestations with thousands of ticks possible on a single animal. Collected ticks can be stored in a leak-proof container with 70% ethanol as a preservative (no formalin, please). We can provide sample collection and shipping materials at no cost.
When collecting ticks, be careful to remove the entire tick as the mouthparts are important for identification.
Additionally, you can contact the Parasitology Lab and arrange for them to perform tick dragging (collect ticks by walking pasture with large cloth drags) on your property to identify ticks in the environment in addition to those found on cattle. This project is funded by IVMA Bovine Preconditioning Program funding. If you have questions or want to request some sampling supplies contact the lab at [email protected]. Samples can be sent to: ATTN: Katy Martin ISU Clin Path Lab 1798 Lloyd Medical 1809 S. Riverside Dr. Ames, IA 50011-3619
