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ARS Home » Plains Area » Kerrville, Texas » Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory » LAPRU » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #345600

Research Project: Cattle Fever Tick Control and Eradication

Location: Livestock Arthropod Pests Research

Title: Immunological control of ticks and tick-borne diseases that impact cattle health and production

Author
item ALMAZÁN, ALMAZÁN - Ecole Nationale
item AGUILAR TIPACAMU, GABRIELA - Autonomous University Of Querétaro
item RODRÍGUEZ, SERGIO - Instituto Nacional De Investigaciones Forestales Y Agropecuarias (INIFAP)
item MOSQUEDA, JUAN - Autonomous University Of Querétaro
item Perez De Leon, Adalberto - Beto

Submitted to: Frontiers in Bioscience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/24/2017
Publication Date: 3/1/2018
Citation: Almazán, A., Aguilar Tipacamu, G., Rodríguez, S., Mosqueda, J., Perez De Leon, A.A. 2018. Immunological control of ticks and tick-borne diseases that impact cattle health and production. Frontiers in Bioscience. 23:1535-1551.

Interpretive Summary: The cattle industry is one of the most economically important agricultural activities in Mexico. The national herd is estimated to include approximately 33.5 million head of cattle. Ticks and tick-borne diseases are principal factors with a negative impact on cattle health and production in Mexico. The most economically important tick species parasitizing cattle in Mexico are cattle fever ticks and the tick scientifically known as Amblyomma mixtum. Parasitism by ticks affects cattle health and production directly. Tick-borne diseases augment the detrimental effect of tick infestation in cattle. Bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis are the most important tick-borne diseases of cattle in Mexico, which are caused by infectious agents transmitted by cattle fever ticks. However, there are no prophylactic therapies to control bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Chemical control is the most common way to treat animals against ticks, and the use of acaricides can also help manage tick-borne diseases. However, the evolution of resistance to acaricides among cattle tick populations renders chemical control ineffective, which represents a challenge for sustainable tick and tick-borne disease control. The only anti-tick vaccine commercially available globally is based on the recombinant antigen Bm86. Because of its mode of immunity against cattle fever ticks, the Bm86-based vaccine also decreases the exposition of bovines to babesiosis and anaplasmosis. This vaccine, marketed under the Gavac trade name, was available in Mexico until recently. Research with Bm86-based vaccines documented efficacy specific against cattle fever ticks, but not against Amblyomma ticks. An update on the progress with anti-cattle tick vaccine research efforts in Mexico is presented in this publication too.

Technical Abstract: The cattle industry is one of the most important agroeconomic activities in Mexico. The national herd is estimated to include approximately 33.5 million head of cattle. Ticks and tick-borne diseases are principal factors with a negative impact on cattle health and production in Mexico. The most economically important tick species parasitizing cattle in Mexico are Rhipicephalus microplus, R. annulatus, and Amblyomma mixtum. Parasitism by ticks affects cattle health and production directly. Morbidity and mortality caused by tick-borne diseases augment the detrimental effect of tick infestation in cattle. Bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis are the most important tick-borne diseases of cattle in Mexico, which are caused by infectious agents transmitted by R. microplus and R. annulatus. However, there are no prophylactic therapies to control bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. Chemical control is the most common way to treat animals against ticks, and the use of acaricides can also help manage tick-borne diseases. However, the evolution of resistance to acaricides among cattle tick populations renders chemical control ineffective, which represents a challenge for sustainable tick and tick-borne disease control. The only anti-tick vaccine commercially available globally is based on the recombinant antigen Bm86. Because of its mode of immunity against R. microplus and R. annulatus, the Bm86-based vaccine also decreases the exposition of bovines to babesiosis and anaplasmosis. This vaccine, marketed under the Gavac trade name, was available in Mexico until recently. Research with Bm86-based vaccines documented high efficacy against R. annulatus, efficacy levels that vary according to the geographic origin of R. microplus populations, and no effect against other ticks species such as Amblyomma spp. The impact of ticks and tick-borne diseases, the problem of chemical control due to acaricide resistance, and progress with anti-cattle tick vaccine research efforts in Mexico are reviewed herein.