Research on Integrated Management for Cattle Fever Ticks and Bovine Babesiosis in the United States and Mexico: Current Status and Opportunities for Binational Coordination.

Bovine babesiosis is a reportable transboundary animal disease caused by Babesia bovis and Babesiabigemina in the Americas where these apicomplexan protozoa are transmitted by the invasive cattle fever ticks Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and Rhipicephalus(Boophilus) annulatus. In countries like Mexico where cattle fever ticks remain endemic, bovine babesiosis is detrimental to cattle health and results in a significant economic cost to the livestock industry. These cattle disease vectors continue to threaten the U.S. cattle industry despite their elimination through efforts of the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program. Mexico and the U.S. share a common interest in managing cattle fever ticks through their economically important binational cattle trade. Here, we report the outcomes of a meeting where stakeholders from Mexico and the U.S. representing the livestock and pharmaceutical industry, regulatory agencies, and research institutions gathered to discuss research and knowledge gaps requiring attention to advance progressive management strategies for bovine babesiosis and cattle fever ticks. Research recommendations and other actionable activities reflect commitment among meeting participants to seize opportunities for collaborative efforts. Addressing these research gaps is expected to yield scientific knowledge benefitting the interdependent livestock industries of Mexico and the U.S. through its translation into enhanced biosecurity against the economic and animal health impacts of bovine babesiosis and cattle fever ticks.

Avaliação in vitro de uma cepa de campo de Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) resistente à amitraz / In vitro evaluation of a field strain of Boophilus microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) resistant to amitraz

O uso dos acaricidas químicos ainda se constitui no principal instrumento de controle do carrapato bovino Boophilus microplus. No sul do Brasil, o amitraz aplicado por imersäo e aspersäo é o ingrediente ativo mais utilizado, nos últimos anos, contra as cepas de carrapatos resistentes aos organofosforados (OF) e piretróides sintéticos (PS). Em conseqüência, torna-se importante a realizaçäo de investigaçöes que possam contribuir para prolongar a vida útil desse ixodicida. No presente estudo, foi analisado o comportamento toxicológico de uma cepa de B. microplus colhida na localidade de Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, usando-se químicos da família dos OF, PS, misturas OF/PS, além do amitraz. Os resultados indicaram que a cepa denominada "Santa Luiza" apresentou fatores de resistência (FR) que variaram entre 2,3 e 3,95 para OF, 23,3 e 147,56 para PS e de 3,76 a 21.57 para amitraz em testes realizados com larvas de carrapatos. A caracterizaçäo e purificaçäo de uma cepa de B. microplus resistente ao amitraz permitem seu uso como cepa de referência para a avaliaçäo biológica de ixodicidas alternativos, além de padronizar e validar métodos de diagnósticos toxicológicos que possam detectar resistência frente a esse acaricida