Abstract
Tick-borne pathogens cause economically significant diseases in cattle. Theileria spp. are parasitic protozoa and the causative agent of bovine theileriosis. Here we report the distribution and risk factors of bovine Theileria using blood samples taken between 2018 and 2019. Of 737 tested cattle, nine animals (1.2%) were positive for Theileria orientalis infection by 18S rRNA gene amplification. Further analysis of the infected samples using the T. orientalis major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene revealed five different genotypes circulating in the population: Types 1, 2, 3, 7, and N3. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first research to describe the existence of the T. orientalis MPSP genotype N3 in South Korea. Although the prevalence of bovine T. orientalis was low, our study offers data on the geographical distribution and prevalence of bovine Theileria spp. in South Korea. Further studies are warranted to determine the correlation of clinical symptoms with parasite MPSP genotypes. Our data provide epidemiological information to help control bovine theileriosis in South Korea.
Highlights
Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) cause significant morbidity and mortality in mammals, representing a major public health threat and damaging livestock production [1]
Additional genetic analysis of the positive samples revealed that the cattle were positive for the T. orientalis major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene (9/737, 1.2%; 95% CI: 0.4–2.0) (Table 1)
Female cattle (p = 0.0293) had a greater possibility to be positive for T. orientalis than male cattle
Summary
Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) cause significant morbidity and mortality in mammals, representing a major public health threat and damaging livestock production [1]. The piroplasms Babesia and Theileria are widely distributed intracellular parasitic protozoans that infect erythrocytes, or erythrocytes and lymphocytes, respectively, and are economically significant TBPs of domestic and wild animals [2]. (Apicomplexa: Piroplasmida: Theileriidae) are transmitted by ticks and cause bovine theileriosis, an economically important disease in cattle [3]. Infected animals display a range of symptoms, including chronic anemia, fever, reduced milk production, weight loss, anorexia, and jaundice [4]. Several species of Theileria infect ruminants, with a wide variation in pathogenicity. Theileria parva and T. annulata are known to cause East Coast fever and tropical theileriosis, respectively
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