A tick-borne disease known as equine piroplasmosis has been confirmed on a ranch in South Texas. Additional testing is being conducted to determine the extent of infection. Horses on the ranch are quarantined to their premises, and a thorough disease investigation is under way.

Equine piroplasmosis can affect horses, donkeys, mules, or zebras. It can cause clinical signs common to many diseases, including poor appetite and weight loss. Death can occur, but some infected equine animals might exhibit few or no signs of disease. Those animals that survive the acute phase of infection might continue to carry the parasite, which has been identified as Theileria equi (formerly known as Babesia equi), for long periods of time