Transboundary Emerging and Exotic Animal Disease/ Exotic Animal Disease Practice Exam

What is the most important control measure if ticks carrying Ehrlichia ruminantium are found?

1. Vaccination of susceptible animals

2. Treating local cattle with acaricides

3. Treatment of the environment with acaricides

4. Test and slaughter of wild birds

The correct answer is: Treatment of the environment with acaricides

When ticks carrying Ehrlichia ruminantium are identified, the most critical control measure involves treating the environment with acaricides. This pathogen is transmitted primarily through tick bites, and by targeting the environment, you can significantly reduce the tick population that poses a risk to susceptible animals. Properly applying acaricides to areas where ticks thrive can decrease their numbers and their ability to transmit Ehrlichia ruminantium to livestock, thereby protecting the health of the animals in that area. Vaccination of susceptible animals is helpful in some contexts but does not directly address the immediate threat posed by existing tick populations. Similarly, treating local cattle with acaricides focuses on the animals themselves rather than the broader environment that harbors ticks. The option of testing and slaughtering wild birds is not relevant here because birds are not the main reservoirs for Ehrlichia ruminantium, which is primarily associated with ruminant hosts and their tick vectors. Thus, controlling tick populations in the environment is the most potent and immediate method for managing this serious health risk.