Vaccine developer studies Asian long-horned tick

Animal health company Medgene is studying the Asian long-horned tick and the possibility of developing vaccines for the diseases it can carry.

Medgene founder and researcher Dr. Alan Young tells Brownfield they received a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study this tick because of its impact on livestock including cattle. “It directly has an impact on cattle health and productivity, but it also has the potential to carry a number of diseases, both of animals and of humans.”

Young says Medgene is already doing similar studies, and he will test technology used in their Texas Cattle Fever tick vaccine on the Asian longhorned tick, and adjust the vaccine as needed.

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