Optimisation and Rationalisation of Cattle Immunisation against Theileria parva in Eastern Zambia

The most serious constraint of cattle rearing in Eastern Zambia has been East Coast Fever (ECF), and acute and often lethal tick-borne disease caused by the protozoan Theileria parva. A method of immunisation known as “infection and treatment” was developed in the seventies and has, so far, been the only efficient and available immunoprophylactic control method. It is done by inoculating cattle with a stabilate of live T. parva sporozoites isolated from infected ticks, simultaneously to an injection of long-acting tetracycline. The method is based on the observation that animals recovering from ECF develop a strong immunity against subsequent homologous challenges. Unlike tick control, it needs to be applied only once in an animal’s life span and, unlike chemotherapy, it is administered without emergency, in an organised manner.