Page 12 - MWC 4-20-2023s

LIFE asleep. Having been afflict- The Midwest Cattleman · April 20, 2023 · P12
continued from page 5 ed with insomnia for many
years, I have discovered that a refrigerator, but I knew there container of ice cream, with-
tor, dropped a piece of equip- bowl or two (sometimes three) was an unopened half-gallon out getting too cold.
ment on my foot, or any of a of vanilla ice cream, will chase in the big freezer, located in However, once my feet
thousand other ways that can away the mental circus and the garage. touched the frigid concrete
break the bones of a farm- allow me to get a restful sleep. That night, it was around floor, I knew I had to cut my
er. There was no need to get It was around 2:00 A.M. when zero degrees, but I was desper- return time by half.
graphic in the description of I decided that ice cream was ate: just not desperate enough Upon return, the concrete
the accident. my only option, thus I made to put on clothing, shoes or steps were closer than they
This past January, it was my way to the kitchen. I was my glasses. I rationalized that appeared.
a really cold night and, as extremely disappointed to dis- I could hurriedly rush down Farming is a dangerous oc-
is often the case, I was hav- cover that there was no sleep the three concrete steps into cupation.
ing great difficulty in falling inducer in the freezer of the the garage, and retrieve the

LONGHORNED TICK clude jaundice, weakness, and ing weeds and brush regularly. the last several years.
continued from page 3 spontaneous abortions. The Consider inspecting cattle for Like other ticks, the long-
symptoms closely resemble ticks during handling events, horned tick can easily travel
those of bovine anaplasmosis, says Ierardi. Livestock mar- unnoticed on livestock, hu-
to a single animal, causing ir- which is widespread in Mis- kets may provide opportuni- mans and pets. Hosts include
ritation and significant blood souri. A blood test is needed to ties for spread, so checking cattle, deer, dogs, humans, rac-
loss. tell the two diseases apart. and/or treating new introduc- coons, opossums and other do-
Ierardi says the tick can “Currently, there is no ap- tions is especially important. mestic and wild animals.
spread quickly. Females pro- proved treatment for Theileria For specific herd health ad- Although the longhorned
duce up to 2,000 eggs at a time. orientalis Ikeda,” says Ierardi. vice, consult a veterinarian. tick transmits several human
Since females can reproduce “Management typically focus- Native to Korea, China, diseases in the regions where
without mating with males, a es on reducing tick numbers Japan, and eastern Russia, it originated, there is no evi-
single female can introduce a and minimizing the impact of the longhorned tick has been dence at this time that they
population of ticks into a new stress and other health issues well-established as an inva- transmit any human diseas-
area. that may affect a cow’s ability sive species in Australia and es in the United States, says
The biggest reason veteri- to mount a strong immune re- New Zealand since the 1950s. Ierardi. Laboratory studies
narians are concerned about sponse.” The longhorned tick will show that the tick can trans-
this tick is that it transmits a Producers can reduce risk continue to spread within mit Rocky Mountain spotted
parasite of cattle, Theileria ori- by keeping cattle away from North America in the coming fever; researchers are study-
entalis Ikeda, which destroys wooded areas and other habi- years, leading to increased ing the tick closely to learn
red blood cells. Symptoms in- tats where ticks live and clear- transmission diseases to cat- more about how to manage
tle and possibly also to hu- this potential risk.
mans, according to Ierardi’s Strategies to avoid being
Ph.D. adviser, Ram Raghavan. bitten by the longhorned tick
Raghavan, an MU profes- are the same as those for other
sor in the College of Veteri- ticks. Learn more from the
nary Medicine and the School U.S. Centers for Disease Con-
of Health Professions, has trol at www.cdc.gov/ticks. If
tracked the spread of ticks you think you may have found
in the U.S. for more than 15 an invasive tick, contact your
years. He predicted which local veterinarian, extension
areas of the U.S. would be suit- specialist or health depart-
able for establishment of the ment for assistance to have
invasive longhorned tick in a the tick identified.
2019 study. This has been sup- MU Extension
ported by real-world data over