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Daniel Fitzgerald, a graduate student at the University of Alberta, is doing research on ticks and tick-borne pathogens in cattle-producing areas of Alberta. His plan involves collecting ticks, from grazing pastures in our province, and directly from cattle. To expedite the collection process, he would like to collect the ticks during the fall processing of cattle for vaccination, pregnancy diagnosis and other production related processes. A blood sample will be obtained from the animals examined for ticks. To carry out the sampling for his study, he needs the help and cooperation of veterinarians who are willing to allow Daniel to enroll these farms. The goal of this research is to identify areas of the province that are at risk for the transmission of tick-borne pathogens to cattle.
The pathogens focused on in this study are Anaplasma marginale, the rickettsial bacteria which causes Ixodes spp. Anaplasmosis in cattle, and Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease. Testing for other tick-borne pathogens may be conducted based on resources available. This research will also identify geographic distribution of the tick species present in cattle producing areas of Alberta, serving as a baseline to track future changes.
Veterinarians will help select cattle producers who would be willing to allow researchers access to the property to remove ticks off their animals and/or allow access to their pastures to collect ticks. All producer and veterinary identification information will be kept strictly confidential.
Veterinarians will be involved in collecting blood samples while the cows are examined for ticks. Collected blood samples will be tested for the presence of (or exposure to) above mentioned tick-borne pathogens. The collected ticks will be identified and then tested for the same pathogens. Veterinarians will be offered an honorarium for the on-farm sample collection and supplies for the blood sampling will be provided.
Once all the data has been collected and analyzed, the results of the research will be shared with participating veterinarians and producers. The research will also be published in a scientific journal.
Daniel Fitzgerald, Agri-Food Laboratories Branch, Food Safety Division, Edmonton, AB
Please contact Daniel with any questions and pass on this request to any of your colleagues that you believe may be interested. Daniel Fitzgerald, 780-415-2705, dtf2@ualberta.ca |
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