Characterization of Theileria species by PCR using specific target sequences

Theileriosis is an infectious disease in tropical countries and in the Mediterranean area. It is caused by Theileria, a haemoprotozoan, transmitted by vectors belonging to the Ixodidae. In Southern Italy and in Sicily the infection is due mainly to T. annulata, but in some cases other species are involved in the disease. The authors describe a method to identify theileriosis in cattle blood samples, using PCR and hybridization techniques. Different primer sets were used to amplify different DNA target sequences, both genus and species specific. Blood samples from cattle were collected in Sicily. The DNA extracted from blood samples was employed first to detect the presence of the 18S ribosomal subunit gene specific for Theileria genus. Successively the positive samples were analysed to identify the species, T. annulata or T. buffeli/orientalis, using as target sequences for amplification respectively a fragment of the TAMS-1 and p33/34 antigens gene. Here the authors describe for the first time the presence of T. buffeli/orientalis infection in Sicilian herds. In fact 66% of positive blood samples were T. buffeli/orientalis infected.