A $460,000 grant will help the University of Missouri research an infectious blood disease in cattle caused by bacteria transmitted by ticks worldwide. The University recently received the grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study a new approach to interfering with the pathogen in the tick vector. A team of researchers at the university are working to develop immunizations with extracts from tick tissues to fight the disease. It has been estimated that more than 80 percent of beef cattle are affected by ticks. The targeted disease infects the red blood cells and causes severe anemia, fever and weight loss in cattle, sometimes can be fatal. Researchers say the overall goal is to develop sustainable ways to treat the disease to keep cattle and herds healthy.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.
Image credit: Adult male (left) and female (right) Gulf coast ticks, Amblyomma maculatum Koch. Photograph by James Castner, University of Florida.