Two closely related tick species, one called the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, and another called the southern cattle tick, R. microplus are responsible for bovine babesiosis in border counties in Texas. A disease without a cure, tick fever is managed with strict quarantines. Fever ticks can carry parasites that infect and destroy the red blood cells of cattle that results in anemia, fever and death.
Source: Drovers, May 2, 2019. Link.
2,655 premises, totaling 950,500 acres, are under quarantine in Texas due to fever ticks. Ranchers along the U.S.-Mexico border say the disease they carry has devastated their operations.