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Ticks, other factors tied to cattle, deer deaths
Associated Press - April 16, 2009 5:35 PM ET
PIERRE, S.D. (AP)State Veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven (OH'-dih-koh-ven) says ticks, severe weather and other factors appear to have contributed to cattle, horse and deer deaths in an isolated area of southwestern South Dakota.
Oedekoven says that after the Animal Industry Board received calls about unexplained animal deaths in an area south of Interior, local veterinarians worked with laboratories to seek a diagnosis. He says it appears that a number of factors including ticks, snowstorms and a lack of nutrition contributed to cattle deaths.
A heavy infestation of a species of ticks known as the winter tick was found on many of the animals. Oedekoven says ticks were part of the problem, but probably not the main cause of the cattle deaths.
The veterinarian says ticks can cause cattle to become weak so they are more susceptible to the cold, wind and snowstorms that have hit the area, particularly if the animals lack sufficient nutrition.
Oedekoven says some people were worried about anaplasmosis (An-ah-plaz-MOH-sis), a tick-borne disease that causes anemia. But he says that disease has not been identified in any samples from the dead cattle.
By AP Writer Chet Brokaw
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