Detection of theileriosis in cattle and buffaloes by polymerase chain reaction

Bovine tropical theileriosis caused by Theileria annulata is a tick-borne disease of great economic importance in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The present study was undertaken to detect theilerosis in cattle and buffaloes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The diagnosis of theileriosis is usually carried out by blood smear staining technique, which is not sufficiently sensitive to detect the piroplasms in the carrier animals. In this study, a total of 116 samples were collected from infected as well as apparently healthy cattle and buffaloes. Screening of blood smears by Giemsa staining detected 15 samples (12.93 %) positive for Theileria piroplasms out of 116 samples. However, the PCR based screening using the specific primers from the major merozoite-piroplasm surface antigen sequence of T. annulata (Tams1) gene detected 74 samples (63.79 %) positive for T. annulata which included 59 samples found negative by Giemsa staining. Our study suggests that the PCR based screening is more sensitive and accurate method for diagnosis of tropical theileriosis in cattle and buffaloes.