By Rachel Cramer
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said the state’s first case of Theileria orientalis Ikeda was confirmed in a cattle herd in Van Buren County in the southeast corner of the state.
The protozoan parasite infects the red and white blood cells of cattle, causing anemia and sometimes death. It’s carried by the Asian longhorned tick, which has spread to over 20 states since it was first detected in New Jersey in 2017. Iowa and Michigan are the latest to join the growing list.
“We haven’t had this parasite in Iowa before, that we know of, and we haven't had the tick before, and so we've got some pretty susceptible cattle right now,” said Grant Dewell, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach beef veterinarian and associate professor.
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