The longhorn tick can transmit theileriosis to livestock
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A tick capable of transferring a harmful disease to livestock appears to have overwintered in New Jersey, according to the state agriculture department.
A sheep farmer from Hunterdon County saw Longhorned ticks on one of his sheep and brought the specimens to researchers for evaluation in November. It was the first sighting of the tick in the U.S. and how it entered the country remains unknown.
Now the tick, which is native to eastern parts of Asia, has survived New Jersey’s winter.
“Ongoing surveillance continued during the winter and on Apr. 17, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the Longhorned tick successfully overwintered in New Jersey and has possibly become established in the state,” the New Jersey Department of Agriculture said in an Apr. 20 statement.
The tick can be a serious pest to livestock, including cattle, horses, farmed deer, sheep and goats. It can spread theileriosis, a disease that can cause anemia, to those animals. Pregnant and lactating cows can be at an increased risk due to their lowered immunity.
Symptoms of theileriosis in cattle also include fever, reduced milk production, abortion and difficulty breathing.
It is unclear at this point if the tick can have the same impacts on cattle in New Jersey as it can on livestock in other parts of the world.
"We don’t know how this tick can affect livestock production under the condition in New Jersey," Dr. Manoel Tamassia, New Jersey state veterinarian, told Farms.com in an emailed statement today. "This tick is known to be a pest in parts of Australia and needs additional management to control it there.The tick does have documented ability to transmit diseases in its native environment."
New Jersey’s agriculture department is working on a pesticide program to eradicate the pest around the Hunterdon County farm and surrounding area.
“We are also monitoring outside of this pasture to see how far out (the pest) might have migrated on wild animals,” Dr. Tamassia told WHYY today. “So far, we have not found it on wild animals around the farm.”
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture encourages farmers who have seen ticks on their livestock to contact (609) 671-6400.
Farms.com has reached out to Dr. Tamassia for more information on the pest and to the New Jersey Beef Industry Council for comment on the situation.
Longhorn tick/New Jersey Department of Agriculture photo