The US Department of Agriculture teamed up with Puerto Rico Department of Agriculture to use the vaccine that was approved for use on cattle in Puerto Rico in 2016. 

The Southern Cattle Ticks (Tropical Cattle Ticks) were detected last summer and were “considered a threat to the cattle industry” as they are vectors for serious disease.

USDA said during the research team's first visit, 82% of the cattle, or 615 animals, were infested with the ticks. By the third visit, only 1% of the cattle were infested, and no ticks have been found on the farm for the past three months.

Dr Fred Soltero, a vet in USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service team, said: "This project provides many benefits to the dairy and beef industries in Puerto Rico, as it has developed alternative methods of tick control that are safer for human use and do not produce harmful environmental impacts. 

"It also reduces the intervention time so it is more economical for the producers."