Infestation of cattle by the brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, does not affect serological responses to foot-and-mouth disease vaccine

Abstract

A comparison of the serological responses of tick-free and tick-infested cattle following inoculation with the Botswana SAT 2 foot-and-mouth disease vaccine indicated that infestation by the brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, did not affect serological responses to the vaccine. This finding implies that infestation by this tick species is unlikely to influence immunity following routine inoculation against foot-and-mouth disease in tick endemic areas.