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The morphology of Trypanosoma theileri in the blood of cattle, and the rediscovery of Theileria mutans in England

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Summary

Large numbers of Trypanosoma theileri appeared in the blood of three calves which had been inoculated about one week beforehand with blood collected in an Algerian abattoir (one splenectomized calf) or in an English abattoir (one calf splenectomized, one not).

Measurements of the total length of T. theileri in thick blood smears (material which was shown to be usable by comparative statistical tests of varied preparations of Trypanosoma lewisi) yielded a mean of 47.2 μ (range 24 to 61 μ) for a total of over 1000 specimens. This is very close to the original description of this species by Laveran (1902) and differs from measurements of other stercorarian trypanosomes described from cattle. During the course of infection, the sizes of the trypanosomes increased steadily, then decreased, and latterly they bore some resemblance to the “stumpy” forms of polymorphic salivarian trypanosomes. The numbers of the trypanosomes at first increased rapidly, remained constant for several days, then decreased. No division was seen in the blood forms, and no developmental, epimastigote stages were seen in the blood or in organ smears. No pathological effects were observed.

Theileria mutans also appeared in the two English calves. The circumstances of this and of other isolations of this parasite in England suggest the possibility that it is occasionally introduced in ticks on migratory birds, or that it is not T. mutans but is a species of Theileria normally parasitic in a small mammal host of Haemaphysalis punctata.

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  1. Department of Parasitology, University of Queensland, 4067, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia

    H. M. D. Hoyte

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  1. H. M. D. Hoyte
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Hoyte, H.M.D. The morphology of Trypanosoma theileri in the blood of cattle, and the rediscovery of Theileria mutans in England. Z. Parasitenk. 38, 183–199 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329597

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00329597

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