Tick vaccine for Bos taurus breeds a step closer.
A vaccine to protect Bos taurus breeds from the costly cattle tick is getting closer, paving the way for northern producers to introduce genetics capable of opening doors to new, high-value markets.
University of Queensland researcher Professor Ala Tabor and her international team have been investigating what makes Bos indicus cattle immune to the effects of cattle ticks with the view to using 'reverse vaccinology' to protect susceptible Bos taurus cattle.
Bos indicus cattle have a natural immunity and cattle tick is one of the driving forces behind cattle breed decisions throughout the tropical zones of the world.
Heavy infestations of ticks cause ill-thrift due to loss of blood and 'tick bother', the continual discomfort of parasitism. Ticks are also the vector for the three pathogens that cause tick fever, which results in illness and often death in cattle.
The research, which started in 2005, looked at what ticks inject into their hosts when they attach and what confers resistance in Bos indicus cattle.
Of the numerous anti-cattle tick antigens identified, 20 to 30 vaccine individual components/mixtures were tested in nine extensive trials over the past decade.
All of the information on this page and the original article can be found: Tick Vaccine for Bos Taurus Cattle