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Invasive species, Asian Longhorned Tick, found in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is warning ranchers to be aware after an invasive species of tick was found in Mayes County.

Invasive species, Asian Longhorned Tick, found in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is warning ranchers to be aware after an invasive species of tick was found in Mayes County.

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    KOCO JASON BURGER LOOKED INTO THE INVESTIGATION. THE TICKS ARE CONCERNING, NOT JUST BECAUSE THEY CAN HURT CATTLE. NO ONE KNOWS HOW THEY GOT TO OKLAHOMA YET. THEY’VE ONLY BEEN IN THE U.S. A FEW YEARS. A DISEASE CALLED BABESIOSIS. UH, THAT CAN BE, UH, VERY SERIOUS IN CATTLE. UH, AND THERE’S REALLY NOT AN ANTIBIOTIC THAT TREATS IT. SO, UH, THAT’S THAT’S A CONCERN. THE OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND FORESTRY SAYS THE STATE IS THE 20TH TO CONFIRM THE PRESENCE OF THE ASIAN LONGHORNED TICK. I’M TOLD A RANCHER FROM MAYES COUNTY HAD TAKEN SOME HEIFERS TO A SALE IN MISSOURI. AND A VETERINARIAN SPOTTED THE TICKS, THOUGHT THEY LOOKED DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HE NORMALLY SEES. SO HE REPORTED THOSE, UH, TO US SINCE THE CATTLE WERE FROM OKLAHOMA, THE DEPARTMENT SAYS THIS IS A NEWER TICK FOUND IN 2017, IN NEW JERSEY, BUT IT’S NOT NATIVE TO THE UNITED STATES. THEY’RE CONCERNING IF THEY LATCH ON TO YOUNG CATTLE, IF THEY WEREN’T TREATED, UH, THEY COULD, UH, SUCK ENOUGH BLOOD OUT OF THAT CALF TO ACTUALLY CAUSE IT TO GET VERY ILL OR DIE WHILE THAT MIGHT SOUND PRETTY SERIOUS, DOCTOR HALL SAYS AN ADULT ANIMALS THAT PROBABLY WOULD NOT HAPPEN. BUT THE LONGHORNED TICKS COULD STILL WEAKEN THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEMS. THE DEPARTMENT IS INVESTIGATING IF THE TICKS HAVE SPREAD OUTSIDE OF MAYES COUNTY. WE HOPE IN THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL WEEKS AND A COUPLE OF MONTHS THAT THAT WE’LL GET A BETTER IDEA IF THEY ARE MORE WIDESPREAD THAN WHAT WE KNOW AT THIS TIME. BUT NORMAL PRECAUTIONS AGAINST TICKS WILL FIGHT OFF THESE ASIAN LONGHORNS TICK TREATMENTS THAT WE USE FOR OTHER TYPES OF TICKS HERE IN OKLAHOMA. UH, ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST THIS. IF YOU NEED MORE INFO ON THESE TICKS, WE’LL HAVE A LIN
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    Invasive species, Asian Longhorned Tick, found in Oklahoma

    The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is warning ranchers to be aware after an invasive species of tick was found in Mayes County.

    The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is warning ranchers to be aware after an invasive species of tick was found in Mayes County.Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.The ticks are concerning, not just because they can hurt cattle, but because no one knows how they got to Oklahoma yet and they’ve only been in the U.S. a few years.“A disease called babesiosis that can be very serious in cattle, and there’s really not an antibiotic that treats it, so that’s a concern,” said Dr. Rod Hall, state veterinarian with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.>> Download the KOCO 5 AppOklahoma is now the 20th state in the country to confirm the presence of the Asian Longhorned Tick. KOCO 5 was told a rancher taking cattle to sell in Missouri, and a veterinarian spotted the ticks.“He thought they looked different than what he normally sees, so he reported those to us since the cattle came from Oklahoma,” Hall said.The department said this is a newer tick to the country, found first in New Jersey in 2017. It’s not native to the U.S. and they’re concerned if they latch on to young cattle.“If they weren’t treated, they could suck enough blood out of that calf that they could get very ill, or even die,” Hall said.While that might sound serious, Hall said in adult animals, that probably wouldn’t happen. The ticks could still weaken their immune systems, and the department is investigating to see if the ticks have spread outside of Mayes County.“We hope in the next several weeks or couple months, that we’ll get a better idea if they’re more widespread than what we know at this time,” Hall said.Norman precautions against ticks will help fight off the species new to the U.S.“Tick treatments for other types of ticks here in Oklahoma are effective against this,” Hall said.For more information on the ticks, click here.Top HeadlinesWoman finds historic baseball card collection in her old barn house2 Oklahoma women get dangerously sick at Cancun resort, with 1 still hospitalizedInvestigation into deadly plane crash near Sundance Airport ongoingTeacher discounts we found online while back-to-school window shopping2 killed in crash involving semitrailers on I-44 in Tulsa, officials say

    The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry is warning ranchers to be aware after an invasive species of tick was found in Mayes County.

    Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.

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    The ticks are concerning, not just because they can hurt cattle, but because no one knows how they got to Oklahoma yet and they’ve only been in the U.S. a few years.

    “A disease called babesiosis that can be very serious in cattle, and there’s really not an antibiotic that treats it, so that’s a concern,” said Dr. Rod Hall, state veterinarian with the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry.

    >> Download the KOCO 5 App

    Oklahoma is now the 20th state in the country to confirm the presence of the Asian Longhorned Tick. KOCO 5 was told a rancher taking cattle to sell in Missouri, and a veterinarian spotted the ticks.

    “He thought they looked different than what he normally sees, so he reported those to us since the cattle came from Oklahoma,” Hall said.

    The department said this is a newer tick to the country, found first in New Jersey in 2017. It’s not native to the U.S. and they’re concerned if they latch on to young cattle.

    “If they weren’t treated, they could suck enough blood out of that calf that they could get very ill, or even die,” Hall said.

    While that might sound serious, Hall said in adult animals, that probably wouldn’t happen. The ticks could still weaken their immune systems, and the department is investigating to see if the ticks have spread outside of Mayes County.

    “We hope in the next several weeks or couple months, that we’ll get a better idea if they’re more widespread than what we know at this time,” Hall said.

    Norman precautions against ticks will help fight off the species new to the U.S.

    “Tick treatments for other types of ticks here in Oklahoma are effective against this,” Hall said.

    For more information on the ticks, click here.


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