Infected Cattle In Tri-State Could Spread Disease To Humans
Excerpted from WKRC@Cincinnati ( Posted: 04/19/2012)
Infected cattle from other parts of the country are apparently bringing a dangerous disease to the Tri-State, and peak season for blood sucking insects could spread it to humans. The disease is called anaplasmosis …and it can be a killer.
While relatively new, it is shown up more and more in cattle across the Tri-State spread by ticks and biting flies, among other things. Thanks to our warm winter this could be a banner year for such bugs. As Local 12’s Rich Jaffe reports, that could mean problems for people as well.
The bacterial blood disease is spread from infected cattle ticks, horseflies or inoculation needles that aren’t sterilized and used from cow to cow. Many farmers lose cattle due to the disease and never realize it. “When you find them a lot of times they’re like a drunk, they can’t stand, the back end’s really wobbly. A lot of times it happens very quickly, one case I know 8 o’clock on a Thursday morning, cow had a calf by her side, 8 days old, that night she was acting weird, the next morning she was dead.”
Lyme Handbook 