Molecular and Microscopic Detection of Theileria spp. among Cattle and Buffaloes in West Azarbaijan, Iran

Bovine theileriosis is an important tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic parasites from genus Theileria. This study sought to detect the theileriosis among cattle and buffaloes using molecular and microscopic tests in West Azerbaijan, Iran. For this purpose, 484 blood samples from 193 cattle and 291 buffaloes were collected during March to July 2014. The breed, gender, age, and habitat of these animals were recorded. These animals were native and apparently healthy, living in four different cities of the province. The blood films were stained with Giemsa’s for microscopic examinations. Direct cell semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was performed to detect T.annulata DNA with Tbs-S/Tbs-A and To-S/Tbs-A primer pairs targeted to 18S ribosomal RNA gene for Theileria spp. and T.orientalis amplification, respectively. The molecular assays revealed that 36 cattle (18.65%) were infected, in which 15 cattle were infected by both T.annulata and T.orientalis. Out of 291 buffaloes, four samples (1.4%) were infected by Theileria genotypes, and two buffaloes (0.7%) were infected only by T.orientalis. The observational results of the gender, age, and habitat of the studied animals were similar to animals of the other parts of Iran. The present study indicated that T.orientalis may be prevalent in native cattle and buffaloes throughout the northern parts of Iran. This study assessed the infection of buffaloes with T.orientalis for the first time.