Published: January 23, 2008 07:17 am      

RANDOM THOUGHTS: Immigration a big deal, even for cows

Last week’s column ended with the question, will a Poe Toaster visit the cemetery this January 19? The answer is yes, Edgar Allen Poe’s grave was visited and three roses and a bottle of cognac were placed there. This tribute began in 1949 and has continued every year by the mystery “Poe Toaster.”

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Long before illegal immigration was a hot issue on the public’s mind, cattle owners worried about Mexican livestock carrying ticks across the border. In June 1900, the Crossville Chronicle warned, “We have been informed by the State Board of Health that a federal inspector of health will arrive soon to inspect cattle to determine if they may be shipped from this section. Our people have exercised extreme caution this year to cleanse the county of the Texas tick. If cattle can’t be shipped till after the frost our people will suffer a heavy loss.”

Recently I read about a man who has been a Texas tick rider for fifteen years. He said the Mexican government does not have any rules or regulations for livestock so it is important to apprehend any with ticks before they infect the American cattle industry.

In 1906 the USDA began a mounted patrol to inspect cattle in a program called the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program. Today in Texas there are over 60 territories with tick riders. If infected by the tick the growth of livestock is devastated, hides are ruined and the milk production decreases. Once it takes hold the disease becomes very expensive to eradicate.

The tick belongs to the arachnid family and includes spiders, scorpions and mites. They are distinguished by four pair of legs. The tick is a bloodsucker parasite and lays in wait to leap on bodies that pass by.

Though tiny, the female tick lays 2000 or more eggs. The life cycle progresses from larvae to nymph to adult. The time from egg to adult varies from one to three years depending on the climate.

For those who lived here in the summer of 1993, the tick became a lively subject. A number of unexplained illnesses in Fairfield Glade residents caused local physicians to ask for help from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The symptoms were very similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever but there was no rash. There was a severe headache, insomnia, high fever and chills, nausea, no appetite and general malaise. And yes, patients had found a tick on their body.

After intensive study the word was that the illness was human ehrlichiosis. This tick-borne disease was first identified in 1986 and since then 399 cases had been reported.

Once the virus was identified the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency collected ten deer from the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area and five from Fairfield Glade. Blood samples were taken and analyzed to learn if they too were infected.

Since that excitement of 1993 there are annual reminders as summer begins to beware of ticks. Now learning about those stalwart Texas tick riders we know they are the first line of defense. The man interviewed for the story I read had hoped to have that job from the time he was a youngster. He watched the tick inspectors when they came to his dad's dairy farm and vowed someday that would be his job.

Thus far he has not problems with illegals. The riders work alone so they avoid trouble. They can communicate with their walkie-talkie and they do carry a .357 Magnum pistol sidearm for protection. They also have a machete to hack through overgrown trails. Their job description includes keeping the trails clear.

For five to seven hours a day they ride solo looking for any strays and checking cattle farms. They are their own boss and don’t punch-in but set their own schedule. For this Texas tick rider the job is a dream come true.