Cattle ranchers in the U.S. now have a new tool to fight a dangerous tick-borne parasite. Medgene just launched the first-ever prescription vaccine for Theileria orientalis Ikeda.
Theileria is a nasty and deadly parasite. Ticks pass it into cattle through their saliva. Once inside an animal, it causes bovine infectious anemia.
Sick cattle suffer from high fevers, jaundice, low energy, and severe weight loss. The parasite can also cause pregnant cows to abort their calves, and it drops milk production fast. Worst of all, it can kill up to half of an infected herd.
Tick-borne illnesses cost the U.S. cattle industry over $13.9 billion every year. But Theileria brings a unique set of headaches. There is no approved treatment for it in the United States. Cornell University researchers found that cattle surviving an infection carry the parasite for life. That means ongoing health problems and lost profits year after year after year. It’s a huge problem to say the least.
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Unlike anaplasmosis, which looks similar, Theileria attacks young calves hard. It also hits pregnant heifers and older cows. And by the time a rancher spots the first sick animal, the ticks have usually spread the parasite throughout the herd. To make matters worse, infected ticks can live in a pasture for up to two years!
Medgene, an animal health company based in South Dakota, built this vaccine to target both the sporozoite and merozoite stages of the parasite. This gives a vaccinated animal multiple ways to fight off the infection. The vaccine is a two-shot series. Animals get an initial shot, followed by a booster later.
As Asian longhorned ticks spread across the country, Theileria is spreading with them. Veterinarians now have a direct way to protect herds before an outbreak hits.
Right now, the vaccine is available by veterinarian prescription. Medgene is also researching more parasite vaccines to target other ticks and vector-borne diseases.
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