INDIANAPOLIS – The Asian longhorned tick (ALHT) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) could be the largest threats to Indiana’s cattle and poultry industries heading into 2026, according to the state veterinarian.

“The real threats to Indiana today are long term, the Asian longhorned tick and the devastating impacts it has, especially on the cattle industry. And then for the poultry industry and the dairy industry, the continued threat of influenza to those populations,” said Dr. Kyle Shipman, appointed Indiana state veterinarian in early January 2025.

“I do think, especially if you’re raising livestock, something to be mindful of as we move into the fall, is still going to continue to be the long-term risk of Asian longhorned tick,” he said. “But then also if we have a susceptible species like poultry or dairy cattle, we don’t anticipate avian influenza going away any time soon. We really need folks to be mindful and diligent about biosecurity to ensure we don’t have any undue incursions onto their farms. Those two are pretty high priority.”

Shipman spoke during an Aug. 27 Indiana State Board of Animal Health webinar that looked at the major disease and pest threats to animal health in Indiana.

ALHT first emerged as a new invasive species to the United States and a major livestock pest in 2017. It was first detected in Indiana in April 2023. Shipman said ALHT has been reported or established in six counties in the state – Dearborn, Dubois, Hendricks, Ohio, Spencer and Switzerland. The tick has been found in many eastern and mid-Atlantic states, and in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.

Animals succumbing to the tick likely died from an exsanguination (severe loss of blood) event in which the animal could no longer thrive with the amount of ticks that were feeding on it, he said.

The estimated cost to the U.S. cattle industry from the pest is about $300 million annually and about $400-$760 per infected animal, Shipman said. ALHT doesn’t affect humans, and meat from infected animals is not a human health risk, he pointed out. ALHT is spreading across the U.S. quickly, Shipman added.

Prevention of ALHT is a multi-pronged approach, he said. “Treating the livestock for ticks is incredibly important in the prevention of Asian longhorned tick. The other piece is also taking an environmental approach. That really means keeping grass and weeds trimmed, especially around the wood line. If you can prevent animals from going into the woods, that’s even better. If not, try to keep the grass within 20 or 30 feet of the wood line mowed down to decrease the ability of the pest to quest on to the animals in that area.”

The Hoosier state declared its freedom from HPAI in late May. Since January, 8.3 million birds have been destroyed in the state. Nationwide, since 2022, HPAI has been found in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The influenza has been confirmed on 1,710 premises with 174.83 million birds destroyed.

Shipman said turkeys on an infected farm can die within 24-48 hours.

“The timing of this virus is why we take swift action at the state and federal level to depopulate these birds in a timely manner,” he stated. “Succumbing to the virus is not pleasant and so we want to make sure that we are able to swiftly move and depopulate these birds, for both humane reasons to prevent additional suffering of the birds and to also decrease the amount of virus that’s produced.

“The longer these birds are alive, the more virus they produce and the greater the chances this virus can spread from farm to farm and actually impact more birds.”

USDA doesn’t currently allow for the vaccination of birds for HPAI, Shipman said.

“There are some risks and benefits to vaccine strategy,” he said. “That’s not to say we don’t see it as a viable tool in the toolbox but some more work is continuing to be done to determine what a vaccine strategy might look like for the United States.”

Those risks include trade implications, as research shows if the U.S. were to vaccinate today, our trading partners would shut down our ability to trade with them, Shipman said. That could mean a loss of upward of $6 billion in exports annually, or up to 200,000 jobs, he said.

The benefits would include a decrease in viral shedding, which further decreases environmental contamination and decreases risk of lateral spread.

Shipman also discussed New World screwworm (NWS) and Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) during the webinar.

NWS refers to the maggots’ feeding behavior as they burrow, or screw, into a wound, causing extensive – and often deadly – damage by tearing at the hosts’ tissue with sharp mouth hooks, he said. NWS can infest cattle, pets, wildlife, occasionally birds, and, in rare cases, people, Shipman said.

NWS is coming closer – about 200 miles away – to the U.S. border with Mexico, he said. In 2023, NWS detections in Panama increased from an average of 25 cases per year to more than 6,500.

A moderate outbreak of NWS in the United States could cost Texas producers $561 million annually, and would threaten more than $100 billion in U.S. economic activity tied to the cattle and livestock industry, he said.

FMD is found in cloven-hooved animals – cattle, sheep, goats, llamas, swine and deer. It’s easily transmitted via secretions and excretions, Shipman noted. It’s predominantly endemic in Africa and a lot of Asia, and has been sporadically found in South American, he said.

Before this year, the European Union hadn’t seen a case of FMD since 2011. In January 2025, the first case in Germany since 1988 was confirmed. In March, Hungary and Slovakia had their first cases since 1973. The source of exposure for these cases has not been identified, Shipman said.

FMD was eradicated in the U.S. in 1929, according to the USDA.