Charles Allen Cary contributed to eradicating a specific tick-borne disease affecting cattle in Alabama. Which disease was targeted?

• A. Texas fever tick infestation in cattle
• B. Bovine tuberculosis
• C. Swine fever
• D. Foot-and-mouth disease

Answer: (A)

Understanding vector-borne disease control in history helps here. The disease targeted is Texas fever, a cattle illness transmitted by the cattle tick Boophilus annulatus and caused by Babesia parasites. Cary’s work in Alabama was part of the early 20th-century eradication effort that used widespread tick control, quarantine, and cattle dipping to eliminate the tick and stop transmission. This was a landmark public health success in veterinary epidemiology.

The other listed diseases aren’t transmitted by ticks and weren’t the focus of this tick-eradication campaign: bovine tuberculosis is bacterial, swine fever affects pigs, and foot-and-mouth disease is caused by a virus.