Ticks and tick-borne bovine piroplasmosis in the Southmountain Pasture of Hunan Province, China

Summary

Ticks and tick-borne bovine piroplasmosis is one of the most serious diseases affecting cattle bred in the Southmountain pasture of Hunan province. An investigation carried out from 1992 to 1995 showed thatTheileria sergenti was found in the blood of disease-stricken cows. Ticks were collected from cattle. The species concerned (three genera and four species of ticks:Haemaphysalis vietnamensis, Haemaphysalis longicornis, Ixodes sinensis andBoophilus microplus) were identified by microscopy and their numbers recorded every month. BecauseH. longicornis is a three-host tick, with the larvae, nymphs and adults all infesting cows and seasonal fluctuations in nymphs and adults correlating with theileriosis outbreaks, this tick species was a potential vector ofT. sergenti. Epidemiological studies indicated that this disease usually occurred in summer or autumn. The disease attacked calves from May to August reaching a peak in June or July (as happened from 1992–1994). In cattle, the disease occurred from June to September with a peak in September. The following pathological lesions were observed: haemorrhages were seen in the subcutaneous tissues and serosa, in the intestinal mucosa and the mesenteric lymph nodes. The surface of the abomasum looked like a piece of red cloth. The liver was enlarged, its edge blunt and curled over. The gall bladder was filled with tawny coloured bile. The spleen was enlarged and dark brown. The heart was enlarged with numerous haemorrhagic foci in the auricle. The blood clotted incompletely. Sick cattle were treated with Berenil and imidocarb and the death rate was reduced from 26% to 5·9%.