scholarly journals Biosurveillance and Research Needs Involving Area-Wide Systematic Active Sampling to Enhance Integrated Cattle Fever Tick (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Eradication

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan T Showler ◽  
Adalberto Pérez de León ◽  
Perot Saelao
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Boophilus Microplus ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Knowledge Gap ◽  
Active Sampling ◽  
Bovine Babesiosis ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
Cattle Fever Tick

Abstract The one-host cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus (Say), and southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), are important ectoparasitic pests of cattle, Bos taurus L., mostly for transmitting the causal agents of bovine babesiosis. Bovine babesiosis inflicted substantial cattle production losses in the United States before the vectors were eliminated by 1943, with the exception of a Permanent Quarantine Zone in South Texas, a buffer along the Mexico border where the invasive ixodids remain. As suitable hosts, infested white-tailed deer and nilgai antelope populations disperse R. annulatus and R. microplus, which increases the risk for emergence of bovine babesiosis in the United States. A R. microplus incursion first detected in 2016 on the South Texas coastal plain wildlife corridor involved infestations on cattle, nilgai antelope, white-tailed deer, and vegetation. Efforts at passive sampling of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp. on hosts are concentrated in the Permanent Quarantine Zone. Hence, a knowledge gap exists on the full extent of the recent incursions. Area-wide, systematic, active sampling and supportive research, involving the Permanent Quarantine Zone, Temporary Quarantine Zone, most of the coastal plain, and other parts of Texas outside of the quarantine zones, are needed to bridge the knowledge gap. Herein, we provide research perspectives and rationale to develop and implement systematic active sampling that will provide an increasingly accurate assessment of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) spp. distribution in Texas. We suggest that this is essential to advance integrated vector-borne animal disease eradication approaches for keeping cattle free of bovine babesiosis.

scholarly journals Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Larvae Collected From Vegetation in the Coastal Wildlife Corridor of Southern Texas and Research Solutions for Integrated Eradication

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 1305-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weste L A Osbrink ◽  
Allan T Showler ◽  
Veronica Abrigo ◽  
Adalberto A Pérez de León
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Boophilus Microplus ◽  
Babesia Bovis ◽  
Cattle Tick ◽  
Bovine Babesiosis ◽  
Wildlife Corridor ◽  
Eradication Program ◽  
Cattle Fever Tick ◽  
Cattle Fever Ticks

Abstract The potential for reinvasion of the United States by cattle fever ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus and Rhipicephalus microplus (Canestrini), which remain established in Mexico, threatens the viability of the domestic livestock industry because these ticks vector the causal agents (Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina) of bovine babesiosis. The Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program safeguards the health of the national cattle herd preventing the reemergence of bovine babesiosis by keeping the United States free of cattle fever ticks. Here, the collection of free-living southern cattle tick, R. microplus, larvae by sweeping flannel flags over vegetation in the wildlife corridor of Cameron and Willacy Counties, TX, is reported. Finding R. microplus larvae on vegetation complements reports of infestations in wildlife hosts inhabiting the southern Texas coastal plains. Land uses and environmental conditions have changed since cattle fever ticks were eradicated from the United States by 1943. These changes complicate efforts by the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program to keep cattle in the United States free of the cattle fever tick disease vectors. Current scientific research on technologies that could be used for area-wide management of fever tick larvae in south Texas and how this could be applied to integrated eradication efforts are discussed.

Landscape Ecology of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) Outbreaks in the South Texas Coastal Plain Wildlife Corridor Including Man-Made Barriers

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan T Showler ◽  
Adalberto Pérez de León
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Boophilus Microplus ◽  
South Texas ◽  
The South ◽  
Wildlife Corridor ◽  
Mud Flat ◽  
Mexico Border ◽  
Saline Habitats ◽  
Cattle Fever Tick

Abstract Landscape features and the ecology of suitable hosts influence the phenology of invasive tick species. The southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini) (Ixodida: Ixodidae), vectors causal agents of babesiosis in cattle and it infests exotic, feral nilgai, Bosephalus tragocamelus Pallas, and indigenous white-tailed deer, Odocoilus virginianus (Zimmerman), on the South Texas coastal plain wildlife corridor. The corridor extends from the Mexico border to cattle ranches extending north from inside Willacy Co. Outbreaks of R. microplus infesting cattle and nondomesticated ungulate hosts since 2014 in the wildlife corridor have focused attention on host infestation management and, by extension, dispersal. However, there is a knowledge gap on the ecology of R. microplus outbreaks in the South Texas coastal plain wildlife corridor. Ixodid distribution on the wildlife corridor is strongly influenced by habitat salinity. Saline habitats, which constitute ≈25% of the wildlife corridor, harbor few ixodids because of occasional salt toxicity from hypersaline wind tides and infrequent storm surges, and from efficient egg predation by mud flat fiddler crabs, Uca rapax (Smith). Rhipicephalus microplus infestations on nilgai were more prevalent in part of the corridor with mixed low salinity and saline areas than in an area that is more extensively saline. The different levels of R. microplus infestation suggest that man-made barriers have created isolated areas where the ecology of R. microplus outbreaks involve infested nilgai. The possible utility of man-made barriers for R. microplus eradication in the lower part of the South Texas coastal plain wildlife corridor is discussed.

scholarly journals Baculoviral Expression of Presumptive OP-Resistance Mutations in BmAChE1 of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and Biochemical Resistance to OP Inhibition

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1318-1323
Author(s):  
Kevin B Temeyer ◽  
Kristie G Schlechte ◽  
William P McDonough
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Boophilus Microplus ◽  
Cattle Tick ◽  
Resistance Mutations ◽  
Bovine Babesiosis ◽  
Gene Encoding ◽  
Southern Cattle Tick ◽  
High Level ◽  
Tick Resistance

Abstract The southern cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), transmits bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis, and is endemic to Mexico, Latin and South America. Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus infestations within the United States are a continuing threat to U.S. cattle producers. An importation barrier between Texas and Mexico keeps the ticks from re-entering the United States. All cattle imported into the United States are dipped in an organophosphate (OP) acaricide and hand inspected for presence of ticks. Tick resistance has developed to most available acaricides, including coumaphos, the OP used in the cattle dip vats. OP-resistance can result from one or more mutations in the gene encoding the enzyme, acetylcholinesterase (AChE), resulting in production of an altered AChE resistant to OP inhibition. Previous research reported a large number of BmAChE1 mutations associated with OP resistance. We report baculovirus expression of recombinant tick BmAChE1 (rBmAChE) enzymes containing a single resistance-associated mutation, to assess their contribution to OP inhibition resistance. Surprisingly, of the naturally occurring BmAChE1 resistance-associated mutations, only D188G resulted in markedly reduced sensitivity to OP-inhibition suggesting that OP-insensitivity in BmAChE1 may result from the D188G mutation, or may possibly result from multiple mutations, each contributing a small decrease in OP sensitivity. Furthermore, an OP-insensitivity mutation (G119S) found in mosquitoes was expressed in rBmAChE1, resulting in 500-2000-fold decreased sensitivity to OP inhibition. Recombinant BmAChE1 with the G119S mutation demonstrated the lack of any structural prohibition to broad and high-level OP-insensitivity, suggesting potential increases in tick OP-resistance that would threaten the U.S. importation barrier to ticks.

Diversity and distribution of the superfamily Grylloidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Gryllidea) in the Nearctic region

Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5040 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-288
Author(s):  
XIN ZHAO ◽  
DANDAN FENG ◽  
YUNTAO LI ◽  
HAOYU LIU
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asymmetric Distribution ◽  
Arctic Zone ◽  
Southeastern Coastal Plain ◽  
Regional Similarity ◽  
Nearctic Region

Based on the geographic distribution database of the Orthoptera Species File, the diversity and distribution of the superfamily Grylloidea in the Nearctic region was studied using the statistics and Sorensen dissimilarity coefficient. A total of 164 species or subspecies belonging to 4 families, 9 subfamilies and 27 genera were recorded from this region; among which Gryllidae (93, 56.70%), followed by Trigonidiidae (44, 26.83%), Mogoplistidae (25, 15.24%), and Phalangopsidae (2, 1.22%). The diversity exhibits an asymmetric distribution pattern, with the southeastern coastal plain, the Interior Plateau and Piedmont of the United States was the most abundant. At the same time, the regional similarity of species distribution was analyzed, and the Nearctic was divided into four subregions: Boreal & Arctic zone of North America, Eastern temperate North America, Northeast temperate North America, and Southern North America & western temperate North America.  

‘KILLER BEES’ BLAMED IN TEXAS MAN'S DEATH

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
J. F. L.
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
The United States ◽  
South Texas ◽  
First Person ◽  
Department Of Agriculture ◽  
Federal Department ◽  
Africanized Bees ◽  
Insect Stings

Harlington, TX, July 19 (AP)—Federal agricultural officials say that the honey bees that killed an 82-year-old rancher last week were the Africanized variety known as "killer bees." "Our lab has confirmed that the bees are Africanized," said Kim Kaplan, a Spokeswoman for the Federal Department of Agriculture in Greenbelt, MD. Final autopsy results are not yet available, but the pathologist who did the autopsy listed the preliminary cause of death as acute fluid buildup in the lungs caused by insect stings. If the cause of death is confirmed, the rancher, Lino Lopex, would be the first person killed by Africanized bees in the United States since the aggressive variety migrated into Texas in 1990. Harlington, TX, in South Texas, is about 15 miles from the Mexican border. Mr. Lopez apparently tried to drive the bees out of a wall in an abandoned house by poking the hive with a stick wrapped with a burning burlap sack. He was dead on arrival at the hospital, with about 40 stingers still attached to his body, officials said.

Grammatical change in borderlands Spanish: A variationist analysis of copula variation and progressive expansion in a South Texas bilingual enclave community

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Phillip M. Carter ◽  
Tonya E. Wolford
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Mexican Americans ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
South Texas ◽  
Grammatical Change ◽  
Bilingual Communities

Abstract This study investigates variation in the grammatical system of Spanish in the speech of three generations of Mexican Americans living in a community in South Texas, United States, characterized by high levels of bilingualism and long-term, sustained contact between languages. Two variables are studied using quantitative methods: (1) the extension of the copula verb estar into domains traditionally confined to ser and (2) the expansion of progressive forms at the expense of the simple present. The data reported here suggest changes-in-progress that appear to be accelerated by the linguistic and sociocultural conditions of the community including, especially, lack of access to formal education in Spanish. The sociolinguistic patterning for these variables is compared to patterning for the same variables reported in the literature in both monolingual communities in Spain and Latin America and bilingual communities in the United States.

scholarly journals Distribution and Ecology of Campylobacters in Coastal Plain Streams (Georgia, United States of America)

2006 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1395-1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethell Vereen ◽  
R. Richard Lowrance ◽  
Dana J. Cole ◽  
Erin K. Lipp
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Domestic Animal ◽  
Coliform Bacteria ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Clinical Cases

ABSTRACT Campylobacter is the leading cause of bacterium-associated diarrhea in the United States and most developed countries. While this disease is considered a food-borne disease, many clinical cases cannot be linked to a food source. In rural and agrarian areas environmental transmission may be an important factor contributing to case loads. Here we investigated the waterborne prevalence of campylobacters in a mixed-use rural watershed in the coastal plain of southern Georgia (United States). Six sites representing various degrees of agricultural and human influence were surveyed biweekly to monthly for 1 year for the presence of culturable thermophilic campylobacters and other measures of water quality. Campylobacters were frequently present in agriculture- and sewage-impacted stretches of streams. The mean campylobacter counts and overall prevalence were highest downstream from a wastewater treatment plant that handled both human and poultry slaughterhouse waste (≤595 CFU ml−1; 100% positive); the concentrations were significantly higher than those for the four upstream sites (P < 0.05). The counts were significantly correlated with the number of fecal coliform bacteria, conductivity, pH, and concentrations of nutrients (NO3 −, PO4 3−, and NH3). Campylobacters were isolated more frequently and larger numbers were present during the summer months, similar to the occurrence of clinical cases of campylobacteriosis in this region. A multivariate model showed that the levels were significantly influenced by increasing precipitation, which also peaked in the summer. The results indicate that loading from both human and domestic animal waste may be high in the watershed studied during the summer months. Mixed-use watersheds supporting agriculture production, human populations, and wildlife may be at risk for contamination by campylobacters and may be an important route for human exposure.

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