Changes in cattle tick control practices in south eastern Queensland from 1977 to 1982

Eradication and control of livestock ticks: biological, economic and social perspectives

Comparisons of successful and failed attempts to eradicate livestock ticks reveal that the social context of farming and management of the campaigns have greater influence than techniques of treatment. The biology of ticks is considered principally where it has contributed to control of ticks as practiced on farms. The timing of treatments by life cycle and season can be exploited to reduce numbers of treatments per year. Pastures can be managed to starve and desiccate vulnerable larvae questing on vegetation. Immunity to ticks acquired by hosts can be enhanced by livestock breeding. The aggregated distribution of ticks on hosts with poor immunity can be used to select animals for removal from the herd. Models of tick population dynamics required for predicting outcomes of control methods need better understanding of drivers of distribution, aggregation, stability, and density-dependent mortality. Changing social circumstances, especially of land-use, has an influence on exposure to tick-borne pathogens that can be exploited for disease control.

A survey of cattle producers in the Boophilus microplus endemic area of Queensland to determine attitudes to the control of and vaccination against tick fever

A survey by mail was used to determine the views of beef producers in the Boophilus microplus endemic area of Queensland on the control of and vaccination against tick fever. Data from 448 questionnaires were analysed, representing 2.7% of beef producers in the survey area. Producers considered buffalo fly (Haematobia irritans exigua) infestation as the most important problem whereas tick fever ranked sixth overall. Private veterinarians were regarded as the most important source of information on vaccines for cattle followed by a weekly rural newspaper. From the survey we estimate that about 33% of producers used the tick fever vaccine produced by the Tick Fever Research Centre of Queensland Department of Primary Industries but there were significant (P < 0.05) variations between regions and herds. Large herds (> or = 400 head) in south-east Queensland were the most likely to be vaccinated against tick fever. Of the producers who did not use the vaccine, over 70% replied that there was no need to vaccinate because of the low risk of the disease in their herds. In 52% of unvaccinated herds the treatment of animals with acaricide was considered the most important means of tick fever control and 61% of these herds comprised Bos indicus x Bos taurus or Bos indicus cattle.

Communal farmers and tick control--a field study in Zimbabwe

Intensive dipping of cattle to control ticks and tick-borne diseases precludes development of endemic stability to the latter. Alternative control strategies have been recommended which reduce the frequency of dipping and permit the expression of tick resistance and endemic stability. However, such strategies imply acceptance by cattle owners of higher tick burdens. In this study the views of a group of communal farmers to tick control are described and the impact of these views upon adoption of other strategies is discussed.

Vaccination with ‘concealed’ antigens for tick control

Ticks are responsible for substantial economic losses to the livestock industry, necessitating intensive use of chemical acoricides in many parts of the world. Problems of chemical residues, cost of acoricides, and development of resistance by ticks, have long been recognized and have helped to stimulate interest in tick control by immunological means (see Box 1). One approach has been to seek ways to enhance the natural immunity often acquired by animals in response to tick infestation. An alternative, discussed here by Peter Willadsen and David Kemp, is to vaccinate with 'concealed' tick antigens not normally encountered by the host, and so stimulate a different immune effector mechanism.