Summary
Amblyomma cohaerens nymphs, which had been collected as engorged larvae from African buffalo(Syncerus caffer) in the Mara region of Kenya, transmitted a theilerial parasite to a steer. Macroschizonts were detected in the regional lymph node of this steer 12 days after tick application and were subsequently detected for 3 days at low levels of parasitosis.
The macroschizonts were large and had numerous nuclei, being morphologically unlike any other theilerial schizonts described previously from cattle in Eastern and Southern Africa, but they resembled the macroschizont ofT. barnetti Brocklesby 1965 from a buffalo also obtained in the Mara region. Piroplasms morphologically indistinguishable fromT. mutans were first detected in the blood of the steer on the sixty-first day after tick application. The steer showed a significant rise in antibody titre to onlyT. mutans (Aitong) piroplasm antigen, using the indirect fluorescent antibody test. There was no evidence that this parasite was pathogenic. The intraerythrocytic piroplasms proved to be blood-transmissible to a splenectomised calf.
Although the parasite showed affinities toT. barnetti andT. mutans (Aitong) definite conclusions regarding its identity must await further transmission experiments.
Résumé
Une Theilerie a pu être transmise à un jeune bovin par des nymphes d'Amblyomma cohaerens recueillies chez des buffles (Syncerus caffer) de la région de Mara au Kenya. Des macroschizontes ont été isolés dans les ganglions 12 jours après les piqûres de tiques et, par la suite, on les retrouve, mais en petit nombre, pendant trois jours.
Les Macroschizontes, volumineux et renfermant de nombreux noyaux, diffèrent des autres schizontes de Theileries décrits antérieurement chez des bovins d'Afrique du Sud et d'Afrique de l'Est. Ils ressemblent aux macroschizontes deT. barnetti Brocklesby, 1965 du Buffle provenant également de la région de Mara.
Des Piroplasmes qu'il est impossible de différencier deT. mutans one été trouvés dans le sang du bouvillon 61 jours après la piqûre des tiques. En utilisant un test d'immunofluorescence indirecte avec un antigène à base deT. mutans (Aitong) seule, on observe une montée significative du taux d'anticorps.
Le parasite ne semble pas pathogène et peut être transmis par injection de sang périphérique à un veau préalablement splénectomisé.
Bien que le parasite ait des affinités certaines à l'égard deT. barnetti et deT. mutans (Aitong) son identité exacte ne peut être précisée et d'autres essais de transmission expérimentale s'avèrent.
Resumen
Se colectaron larvas repletas, de Amblyomma cohaerens, del búfalo Africano (Syncerus caffer) en la región de Mara en Kenya. Estas como ninfas, al ser puestas en contacto con un novillo le transmitieron un parásito teilerial. Se detectaron macroesquizontes en los ganglios linfáticos regionales del animal, 12 días después del contacto con las garrapatas por tres días consecutivos con niveles bajos de parasitosis.
Los macroesquizontes observados fueron de gran tamaño con numerosos núcleos, siendo morfológicamente distintos a cualquier otro esquizonte teilerial de los descritos en el Este y Oeste del continente Africano. Sin embargo, estos guardan cierto parecido con los macroesquizontes de T. barnetti, Brocklesby 1965, encontrados también en bufalo en la región de Mara, Kenya. Se detectaron piroplasmas morfológicamente indistinguibles de los de T. mutans en la sangre del novillo experimental, el día 61 después del contacto con las garrapatas. El novillo tuvo un aumento significativo en el título de anticuerpos solamente al antígeno piroplàsmico de T. mutans (Aitong), utilizando la prueba indirecta de anticuerpos fluorescentes. No hubo evidencia de la patogenicidad del parásito. La forma intraeritrocitica del parásito se pudo transmitir por pasaje directo de sangre bovina a un ternero esplenectomizado.
A pesar de que el parásito mostró afinidad con T. barnetti y T. mutans (Aitong), conclusiones definitivas relacionadas con la identidad del parásito están sujetas a experimentaciones futuras.
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FAO Animal Health Officers.
On ODA secondment from the Central Veterinary Laboratory, Weybridge, Surrey, UK (ODA Research Project R 2845).
Project supported by the United Nations Development Programme with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations as the Executing Agency, in co-operation with the East African Community. The Project is also supported by the Overseas Development Administration of the United Kingdom (Research Projects R 2396, R 2494 and R 2845), the United States Department of Agriculture, the Rockefeller Foundation, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Pfizer Corporation.
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Young, A.S., Burridge, M.J. & Payne, R.C. Transmission of aTheileria species to cattle by the ixodid tick,Amblyomma cohaerens Donitz 1909. Trop Anim Health Prod 9, 37–45 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02297389
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02297389