Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Pullman, Washington » Animal Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #329616
Title: Detection of theileria parva in tissues of cattle undergoing severe east coast fever disease show significant parasite accumulation in the spleen

Author
item OLDS, CASSANDRA - Washington State University
item PAUL, TASHA - Washington State University
item Scoles, Glen

Submitted to: Veterinary Parasitology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/10/2016
Publication Date: 12/15/2016
Citation: Olds, C.L., Paul, T., Scoles, G.A. 2016. Detection of theileria parva in tissues of cattle undergoing severe east coast fever disease show significant parasite accumulation in the spleen. Veterinary Parasitology. 232:32-35.

Interpretive Summary: East Coast fever (ECF) is a devastating disease of cattle that causes very high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. ECF is caused by a parasite known as Theileria parva that is transmitted only R. appendiculatus ticks. Infection with Theileria parva causes a severe lymphoproliferative disease of cattle. Once it has infected a host lymphocyte the parasite induces a clonal proliferation in which each daughter cell receives at least one copy of parasite. The population of infected cells expands rapidly and disseminates from the site of infection to lymphoid organs throughout the body. However, very little is known about the relative abundance of parasites within different lymphoid and non-lymphoid host tissues of infected cattle. In this study we have used quantitative PCR to detect the amount of parasite DNA in a wide variety of host tissues and we have shown that significantly higher numbers of T. parva parasites accumulate in the spleen of cattle than in any other tissue. The results of this study may be important for development of more sensitive methods for molecular diagnosis of T. parva infections.

Technical Abstract: Infiltration and proliferation of Theileria parva infected lymphocytes in bovine host lymphoid organs is one of the hallmarks of T. parva infection. The relative abundance of parasites within infected host tissues, both lymphoid and non-lymphoid is however unknown. Using quantitative PCR, we have shown that significantly higher numbers of T. parva parasites accumulate in the spleen of cattle undergoing severe disease.