Anaplasmosis in beef cattle

A practitioner's approach to diagnosis and control

Abstract

Anaplasmosis, an infectious anemia of cattle and certain other ruminants, is caused in the United States by the hemotropic parasite, Anaplasma marginale. This disease continues to cause significant economic loss to the cattle industry. Methods for controlling anaplasmosis include identification and elimination of affected animals, segregation an d /o r treatment of carrier animals, prophylactic feeding of drugs, vector control and immunization.

The purpose of this communication is to present an overview of anaplasmosis with emphasis on methods of diagnosis and control.