In a July 16, 2014 article published on the Southwest Farm Press website regarding exotic nilgai and the spread of fever ticks we mistakenly referred to the agent that causes cattle fever as Babesia microti. That is incorrect and should be Babesia bovis. Babesia bigemina is also of concern for this cattle disease but neither is a human pathogen.
Dr. Patricia Holman, Research Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, brought this error to our attention.
“Bovine babesiosis is caused by Babesia bovis or Babesia bigemina in this hemisphere,” Dr. Holman explains. “Neither is a human pathogen. Babesia microti, on the other hand, is a human pathogen and does not infect cattle. So, to reiterate, Babesia microti is not a causative agent of bovine babesiosis.”
We thank Dr. Holman for bringing this error to our attention and apologize to our readers for the mistake.
Ron Smith, editor
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