Worldwide, the longhorned tick costs cattle producers millions of dollars in lost agricultural income, and it is now present in northern Missouri.
This tick was first discovered in the United States in 2017 in New Jersey, where it was originally discovered in eastern Russia and the Australasian region. Since then, it has spread to the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and Midwestern parts of the United States. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri have made the first discovery of it in northern Missouri.
The longhorned tick was discovered in the state’s south last year. The longhorned tick infestation could cause significant weight loss in cattle, similar to the already common disease known as anaplasmosis. However, as of now, the threat from this species of tick to cattle—as well as people and their pets—in Missouri is still minimal. This most recent discovery suggests an additional economic burden for cattle producers due to ticks. Researchers stress that increased caution is required when dealing with ticks in general as a result of the discovery of the longhorned tick in the state.
While most ticks reproduce in a traditional manner, female longhorned ticks have the ability to lay thousands of eggs on their own, which makes it simpler for them to establish themselves quickly in new areas. Theileriosis, a disease that kills red blood cells in cattle, can possibly be transmitted when the longhorned tick is infested.
Even though there haven’t been any confirmed cases of bovine theileriosis in Missouri cattle to date, this finding highlights the importance for cattle ranchers in the state of making well-informed choices about quarantining procedures when integrating new cattle into their herds in order to safeguard the welfare of their animals, which has significant economic ramifications.
Rosalie Ierardi, an anatomic pathologist at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine, recently found two longhorned ticks in Linn County, Missouri, while conducting anaplasmosis surveillance research. “Studying how common invasive ticks are in different parts of the world can help vets and farmers take proactive, preventive steps that could protect the health of livestock, which could have huge economic effects,” she said.
Ierardi worked on the project with Ram Raghavan, a professor at the MU School of Health Professions and College of Veterinary Medicine. In 2019, Raghavan made a prediction about the longhorned tick’s possible geographic distribution. Raghavan has been monitoring the spread of different tick species in the United States for 15 years. The tick seems to be settling down so far in the regions that he predicted in that study. He claimed that over the past ten years, there has not only appeared to be an increase in the number of ticks overall in the Midwest, but also an increase in the pathogens and diseases those ticks spread to cattle, people, and pets.
“Warmer temperatures in the Midwest appear to be creating ideal conditions for ticks and the pathogens they carry to thrive, which is concerning,” Raghavan said. “This problem may get worse going forward as the planet continues to warm.” We must be vigilant and invest resources to try to stop these ticks from spreading illnesses that are harmful to the health of cattle, people, and their pets. The finding of longhorned ticks in northern Missouri highlights the importance of increasing awareness of ticks in general and regular surveillance of the pathogens they transmit.
Ierardi tells cattle ranchers to talk to their local vet and the MU Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory if their cattle show signs of weakness, jaundice, or loss of pregnancy. These places can help find out what’s wrong.
Ierardi said that because the disease’s symptoms are frequently mistaken for those of anaplasmosis, producers and veterinarians should exercise caution and have their animals tested whenever they have any doubts. The main threat posed by these longhorned ticks at the moment appears to be bovine theileriosis, which affects cattle, despite the fact that they are known to spread a number of human disease pathogens.
