Simulation of control strategies for the cattle tick Boophilus microplus employing vaccination with a recombinant Bm86 antigen preparation.

Current strategies for the control of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus include the use of chemicals as the principal control method. These methods, however, have met with partially successful results. The recent development of immunological methods for the control of the cattle tick has opened new possibilities for the design of control strategies. Employing the results obtained by us in experiments testing the effect of vaccination with the recombinant vaccine, Gavac (Heber Biotec S.A.), on tick populations, we have developed a model to evaluate, through a computer program, the efficacy of the vaccine as a control method. The action of the vaccine on the control of tick populations was simulated and the specific serum antibody titers required to decrease the tick population in the field were calculated. The specific serum antibody titer required to decrease the tick population in the field after the first vaccination scheme was found to be > or = 57,200 and the antibody titer required to maintain this effect when the vaccine is already acting and after successive revaccinations was found to be > or = 27,500. Considerations about revaccination schemes and combination between vaccination and acaricide treatments as possible control strategies are discussed.