Tick burden and prevalence of Theileria parva infection in Tarime zebu cattle in the lake zone of Tanzania
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Date
2014-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
springer
Abstract
This study was carried out to assess the distribution,
abundance of different tick genera and prevalence of Theileria
parva infection in Tarime zebu cattle kept in selected wards of
Serengeti and Tarime districts in Mara region. Adult ticks
were identified and counted from half body parts of 360
animals which were extensively managed in communal land
with natural pastures. Concurrently, blood samples were col-
lected and thereafter DNA extracted and a nested polymerase
chain reaction (nPCR) was done using primers specific for
p104 gene to detect the presence of T. parva DNA. Ticks were identified into four groups: Amblyomma genus, Boophilus
sub-genus of Rhipicephalus genus, other species of
Rhipicephalus, and Hyalomma genus. Rhipicephalus genus
accounted for 71.8 % of the total ticks, whereas Amblyomma,
Boophilus sub-genus of Rhipicephalus genus and Hyalomma
constituted 14.1, 14.0 and 0.1 %, respectively. There were
more animals (p<0.05) infested with ticks in Tarime district
(96.1 %) than in Serengeti (61.7 %). The average counts of
ticks were higher in adult animals (p<0.05) than in young
animals. The overall prevalence of T. parva was 27.7 % and
was higher (p<0.05) in Serengeti (38.3 %) than in Tarime
district (16.7 %). However, all animals tested positive for
T. parva did not show any clinical signs of East Coast fever
(ECF), suggesting the existence of subclinical infection in
Tarime zebu. These results suggest that Tarime cattle can
tolerate ECF infection and are likely to serve as potential
carriers of T. parva to other less-tolerant cattle breeds in mixed
herds. Since Tarime cattle are preferred by most farmers with
mixed herds, routine screening for T. parva is highly recom-
mended to minimize introduction of infected cattle into an
immunologically naive population.
Description
Keywords
East coast fever, Tarime zebu, Tick species, Tolerance