Driving its adapted mouthparts into the skin of its host the infected brown ear tick delivers a deadly injection as it starts to feed on bovine blood. Catching a ride in the tick’s saliva, sporozoites (spores) of the protozoan parasite, Theileria parva, the agent of East Coast fever, make their…
Dipping, or acaricides, is one of the weapons in farmers’ arsenal in the war against East Coast fever (ECF). Here’s more on trade names and chemical groups. The chemistry that dictates how acaricide compounds work is complex and needs profound levels of understanding. Cattle farmers need only to know how…
Dipping, or acaricides, is one of the weapons in farmers’ arsenal in the war against East Coast fever (ECF). There are three major options available in the battle against ECF: dipping to control the ticks, vaccinating to control the parasitic protozoan parasites that cause the disease, treating animals soon after…
The control and management of ticks, and tick-borne diseases, is complex and difficult, but not impossible. Success depends on commitment, co-operation, funds, some knowledge and a healthy dose of common sense. East Coast fever (ECF) and its vector, the brown ear tick, present the most serious disease challenge cattle farmers…
At the end of January The Zimbabwe Herald carried a report on an outbreak of tick-borne “January disease” (East Coast fever) in the north-eastern sector of the country. The report stated that 2 000 cattle had died of the disease. The actual number of deaths was probably higher. The Herald…
