Texas Gets Additional $3.7M In Federal Funds To Fight Cattle Fever Ticks Spread In South Texas.

AUSTIN, TX — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday allocated an additional $3.7 million in federal funds to fight the spread of cattle fever ticks throughout South Texas.

The bolstered funding will be added to an existing $8.5 million source for FY 2017, bringing the total funding for USDA's cattle fever tick control efforts in Texas to $12.2 million. The governor's office noted the funds are in addition to the state's efforts at the Animal Health Commission to control the destructive pest.

“The State of Texas is being threatened with a crisis, which if not contained quickly, could devastate the agricultural sector of our state,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a prepared statement. “Texas cattle producers are currently experiencing an infestation of fever ticks not experienced since the 1970s, and I am committed to containing this threat before it becomes a statewide epidemic. I thank the USDA for their work with Texas on this matter and am hopeful that together we can reverse these trends, saving Texas cattle.”

Cattle fever ticks, known scientifically as Rhipicephalus (formerly Boophilus) annulatus and R. microplus, are a significant threat to the United States and Texas cattle industry. These ticks are capable of carrying the protozoa, or microscopic parasits, Babesia bovis or B. bigemina, commonly known as cattle fever. The Babesia organism attacks and destroys red blood cells, causing acute anemia, high fever, and enlargement of the spleen and liver, ultimately resulting in the death of up to 90 percent of susceptible naive cattle.

According to the USDA, cattle fever ticks were finally declared all but eradicated from the U.S. in 1943 after a 36-year campaign. But the lone remaining area where the ticks are found is along a narrow strip of land along the Texas-Mexico border that's been under quarantine since 1938.

>>> USDA photo shows cattle going through a tick treatment bath in McAllen, Texas.