Angus cows

Bovine Theileriosis and the Asian Longhorned Tick

Kortnie WheatonAnimal Health, Livestock diseases, Risk assessment Leave a Comment

Bovine theileriosis (Tie-lir-ee-OH-suhs) is a tick-borne disease caused by a protozoan blood parasite, Theileriosis orientalis. (Malaria is another disease caused by a protozoan blood parasite, but it is mosquito-borne.) It is often referred to as bovine anemia due to the chronic anemia that it can cause in cattle, and it affects many different species of cattle, buffalo and small ruminants …

Two horses touching noses

An Unwelcome Sign of Summer: Vesicular Stomatitis

Katie LobertiAnimal Health, Livestock diseases Leave a Comment

Imagine looking forward to spending time with your horses during the summer, but finding them drooling with blistered tongues and muzzles. Unfortunately, this is what some farmers and equestrians in southwestern and midwestern areas of the United States are experiencing this summer because of an outbreak of vesicular stomatitis (VS). VS is a zoonotic disease—caused by the VS virus (VSV)—and …

Lamb in a field

Producers Benefit from Scrapie Program Cooperation

Samantha ShieldsAnimal Health, Livestock diseases, Policy Leave a Comment

There are many reasons why people are reluctant to comply with government laws and regulations. However, a cooperative state-federal-industry program for eradicating scrapie in the United States has resulted in excellent progress towards eliminating this disease in sheep and goats. The number of animals testing positive for scrapie in the U.S. has decreased by 99 percent, since analysis of producer-submitted …