The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-07-08
HOW CATTLE TICKS
SPREAD TEXAS FEVER.
BY DISCRIMINATING the Ticks the
Disease Can Be Stamped Out and
the Quarantine Removed.

The microscopic parasite WHICH
causes the disease known as Texas
fever or tick fever of cattle is found
in the blood of affected animals and
is transferred from one to another
by means of the fever tick. A re-
markable feature of this transaction
is that the disease-producing para
sites are transmitted Through the
eggs of the tick that draws the blood
and not directly by the old tick, as
an engorged tick after dropping
from the host (cow) dies without
ever attaching itself to another AMI
NAL. But its offspring, produced by
the eggs laid after it drops on ana
before it dies, carry the Infection
and inoculate the first COW they get
on.
The length of time elapsing be
tween the exposure of susceptible
cattle to infection by ticks and the
appearance of Texas fever among
them is dependent upon the climate
and the development of the ticks
Thus. if northern cattle are placed
on pastures, highways, or in pens,
cars. etc, in summer Immediately
after the premises have been infest-
ed with ticks from southern cattl
-,exas fever may occur in from
thirty to sixty days, as the female
ticks which drop from southern cat
tie must lay eggs and these must
hatch before the northern animal be
comes infested with ticks and there
by inoculated with the disease. Al
ter the seed ticks become attached
to the animal the disease will appear
in about ten days in summer or a
somewhat longer period in winter
In fact, the disease may occur before
the ticks are large enough to pc
seen without very careful search.
One objection that has been ad-
vanced against the fact that the cat
tie tick is a carrier of Texas fever
is that cattle are sometimes found
to be suffering with the disease with
cut showing the presence OF TICKS
on their bodies. This condition in
the case of southern cattle may be
explained by the fact that the AMI
nal already had its blood injected
with the parasites and under normal
conditions was resistant to Texas fe-
yer; however, as a result of lowered
vitality caused by some other disease
or by exposure, privatiOn, INJURY,
rough handling, etc, this resistance
has been reduced and finally over
come, and the parasites at last sue
coed in producing the disease. On
the other hand, when this disease
is observed in northern animals, the
young seed ticks may be so small
and sOfew in number as to be I'M
observed.
Under certain conditions, as when
living on horses, mules, etc, the
ticks lose their righteousness, and
when southern cattle not previously
infested with any but these nominee
tious ticks come in contact with IN
fictitious ticks they are just as sus-
ceptible as cattle raised on tick-tree
pastures.
Many cattle appear perfectly heal
thy and yet are infested with ticks
and have the fever parasite IN their
blood. Sometimes the owners can
not understand why such animals
should be regarded as dangerous to
others. and consider it unjust that
thew should be subjected to quaran-
tine restrictions The fact is that
such cattle have usually contracted
the disease III a very mild form at
an early age and have become i'm
mune to further attacks, although
still carrying the parasites IN their
blood. They are dangerous because
the fever parasites in their blood may
be transmitted at any time TO sus-
ceptibie cattle by ticks.
While the disease may be produced
by inOculating a susceD-
tible animal with the blood OF an IN
fected one, it is spread naturally
only bv the ticks. By eXtermindClng
the ticks, therefore, the disease can
be stamped out, and the quarantine
can then be removed
The discovery of the part played
by the tick in the spread of Texas
fever was made by the Bureau OF
Animal Industry of the United States
Department of Agriculture IN lS9 l.
and the same principle has since
been found to apply to the tTanslHls-
sion of malaria and yellow fever
from man to man by mosquitoes, and
to the spread of certain other DIS
eases.
Publications containing fuu lnIor-
nation about the ticks and giving
directions for getting rid OF them
NAV be obtained free, on appllca-
lion to the Bureau of Animal Indus
try. Department of Agriculture,
D. c.
JuSt Wait,