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Rising tick pesticide resistance threatens South Africa’s cattle industry

14 August 2024 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Supplied

Ticks that feed on South Africa’s cattle are developing resistance to the only effective pesticides, making them increasingly difficult to control. If this issue is not addressed, the spread of these parasites and their resistance to pesticides could significantly impact farmers' incomes and food security.

According to a study by Dr Luther van der Mescht, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Zoology and Entomology, many tick populations in South Africa are resistant to at least two of the three main types of acaricides (chemical classes) used in the country.

Dr Van der Mescht notes that with around 12 million cattle in South Africa, these ticks not only lower meat and milk production but also carry pathogens that can cause potentially fatal diseases. He estimates that the economic losses from tick-borne diseases and the use of acaricides could reach up to R670 million annually in the cattle industry alone.

He adds that South Africa's agricultural sector is unique due to its dual farming system, which includes both subsistence and commercial farmers, amplifying the impact of ticks. “The country is also home to a wide variety of tick species that transmit numerous pathogens across a diverse range of habitats and climates in which cattle are farmed. Consequently, the effects of ticks and tick-borne diseases in South Africa may be more severe compared to those in developed countries.”

Dr Van der Mescht highlights that ticks are developing resistance primarily due to poor farm management practices, such as underdosing, overdosing, and excessive use of acaricides. “Additionally, insufficient government support in educating farmers and managing resistance exacerbates the problem.”

Managing acaricide resistance

Dr Van der Mescht explains that while ticks will inevitably develop resistance to acaricides, this usually happens much slower if pesticides are used strategically. To slow the development of resistance, several measures can be implemented:

• Minimise the number of acaricide treatments.

• Assess tick diversity and acaricide resistance at the farm level and monitor it regularly. The study found that acaricide resistance was highly variable across South Africa, likely due to different farm management practices; hence it should be assessed at the farm level.

• Quarantine animals when transferring them to a new farm, ensuring they are free of ticks before releasing them.

• Rotate acaricides from different chemical classes, with a gap of at least two years between applications.

• Government veterinary services should raise awareness about acaricide resistance and provide support, particularly to under-resourced farmers. Establishing acaricide resistance testing laboratories would help monitor resistance and offer guidance to farmers.

Expert in parasitology

Dr Van der Mescht is particularly fascinated by the fact that most animals on earth follow a parasitic way of life. He graduated with a PhD in Conservation Ecology from the Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology at Stellenbosch University in 2015, focusing on rodent parasites.

Career highlights include receiving the Wilhelm Neitz Memorial Scholarship in Parasitology from the Parasitological Society of Southern Africa (PARSA) for study abroad, and the Blaustein Centre for Scientific Cooperation Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2016 from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, to conduct research on the experimental evolution of host specialisation. He also received the Claude Leon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2019 to study the cat flea at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology.

With over four years of experience in the industry at a contract research organisation, he has conducted more than 40 clinical studies for international pharmaceutical companies and published over 50 peer-reviewed scientific articles.

Making research visible, impactful, and relevant to society

Dr Van der Mescht recently published an article for The Conversation and participated in interviews with eNCA, Newzroom Afrika, and Cape Talk to discuss his research. “This effort aligns with the Vision 130 strategy of being a regionally engaged university and supports one of the key pillars of research development at the University of the Free State (UFS), which is to make our research visible, impactful, and relevant to society.”

He also highlighted the significance of popular science, noting that it helps scientists communicate their research to a broader audience, build their professional reputation, enhance their funding opportunities, and improve their research outcomes.

News Archive

UFS boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

2005-11-23

Celebrating the inauguration of the NMR were from the left Prof Frederick Fourie (Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS), Dr Detlef Müller (Development Scientist and Manager: Africa and Asia of Bruker in Germany, the supplier of the NMR), Prof Jannie Swarts (head of the head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS) and Prof Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean: Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS). Photo: Lacea Loader

UFS boasts with most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa

The University of the Free State’s (UFS) Department of Chemistry now boasts with some of the most advanced chemical research apparatus in Africa after the latest addition, a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer, was inaugurated today by the Rector and Vice-Chancellor, Prof Frederick Fourie. The NMR is used to analyse molecular structures.

Last month the Department of Chemistry celebrated the installation of the most advanced single crystal X-ray diffractometer in Africa. The diffractometer provides an indispensable technique to investigate among others the solid state of compounds for medicinal application.

“Three years ago the UFS executive management realised that, if we want to build a university of excellence, we should invest in research. We started to think strategically about chemistry and decided to bring the apparatus at the Department of Chemistry on a more competitive standard. Strategic partnerships were therefore secured with companies like Sasol,” said Prof Fourie during the inauguration ceremony.

“The installation of the NMR symbolises the ability of the UFS to turn academic areas around. I hope that this is the beginning of a decade of excellence for chemistry at the UFS,” said Prof Fourie.

”The catalogue value of the Bruker 600 MHz NMR is approximately R11 million. With such an advanced apparatus we are now able to train much more post-graduate students,“ said Prof Jannie Swarts, head of the Division Physical Chemistry at the UFS.

”The NMR is the flagship apparatus of the UFS Department of Chemistry that enables chemists to look at compounds more easily at a molecular level. Research in chemistry is critically dependent on NMR, which is a technique that can determine the composition of reactants and products in complicated chemical reactions, with direct application is most focus areas in chemistry,“ said Prof Swarts.

”Parts of the spectrometer consists of non-commercial items that were specifically designed for the UFS Department of Chemistry to allow the study of unique interactions in e.g. rhodium and platinum compounds,” said Prof Swarts.

According to Prof Swarts the NMR enables chemists to conduct investigations on the following:

To evaluate for example the complex behaviour of DNA in proteins as well as the analysis of illegal drugs sometimes used by athletes.
It provides an indispensable technique to investigate compounds for medicinal application for example in breast, prostate and related bone cancer identification and therapy, which are currently synthesised in the Department of Chemistry.
It can also be applied to the area of homogeneous catalysis where new and improved compounds for industrial application are synthesized and characterised, whereby Sasol and even the international petrochemical industry could benefit. This analytical capacity is highly rated, especially in the current climate of increased oil prices.
The NMR can detect and identify small concentrations of impurities in feed streams in the petrochemical industry, e.g. at Sasol and also the international petrochemical industry. These minute amounts of impurities can result in metal catalyst deactivation or decomposition and can cause million of rands worth in product losses.
It is indispensable for studying the complexity of samples that is non-crystalline. These materials represent the vast majority of chemical compounds such as solvents, gasoline, cooking oil, cleaning agents and colorants as examples.

According to Prof Swarts the general medical technique of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in use at larger hospitals, is based on NMR technology.

”The NMR apparatus enabled the Department of Chemistry to characterise complex molecules that were synthesised for the multi-national company, FARMOFS-PAREXEL, and to negotiate research agreements with overseas universities,” said Prof Swarts.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel: (051) 401-2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
22 November 2005

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