Epidemiological and diagnostic investigation on bovine theileriosis in Aswan Governorate, Egypt.

The present study was carried out to investigate the epidemiological and clinical status of bovine Theileriosis in Aswan governorate. During a 2-year study, 265 cattle were clinically suspected upon careful clinical examination as Theileria annulata (T. annulata) infected animals. Conventional diagnosis based on blood and lymph smears examinations showed that, the prevalence of Tropical Theileriosis in cattle in Aswan governorate was 56 (21.13%). Stained blood smears showed the presence of macro and/or micro-schizonts inside lymphocyte (Koch's blue bodies. Intraerythrocytic stages of Theileria annulata piroplasms inside RBCs. Polymerase chain reactions of T. annulata merozoite-piroplasms surface antigen Targeting gene: (Tams-1), revealed positive 29 (58%) animals confirmed by visualization of specific bands at 768 bp. Positive results could be detected in suspected cattle that showed positive or negative blood smear results that confirmed the high sensitivity of the PCR technique compared with the conventional method for diagnosis of bovine tropical Theileriosis. PCR proved to be a highly sensitive and accurate method for diagnosis of bovine tropical theileriosis especially in the detection of samples that was negative on blood and lymph smears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]