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USDA Veteran Patrols For Ticks
A USDA veteran has been patrolling a stretch of the Rio Grande for 16 years in search of livestock that could be carrying a tiny and potentially deadly pest.
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(April 19, 2008)—U.S. Department of Agriculture Veteran Fred Garza has been patrolling a piece of the Rio Grande for 16 years usually on horseback in search of stray livestock that might be carrying a tiny pest and its cargo of a deadly disease.
Garza is a veteran of the 61-member USDA "Tick Rider" force, which keeps watch over a 700-mile buffer zone along the Rio Grande from Brownsville to Del Rio, inspecting both foreign strays and native ranch animals for the fever tick.
The parasite, which was eradicated from America more than 60 years ago, can transmit disease to cattle and could spread to the entire southeastern United States if not controlled.
The tick has managed lately to migrate beyond the 862-square mile permanent quarantine zone.
To move cattle out of any quarantine zone and into the "free area," they must first be inspected for ticks.
Experts say tick fever can kill up to 90 percent of infected cattle, causing anemia, weight loss and bloody urine before death.
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Latest Comments
Ticks at the Rio Grande? Wonder where they came from? lol :-)
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