Publications
| Title | Abstract | Year(sorted descending) Filter | PMID Filter |
|---|
| a review on prevalence, control measure, and tolerance of tanzania shorthorn zebu cattle to east coast fever in tanzania. | in tanzania, control of east coast fever (ecf) has predominantly relied on tick control using acaricides and chemotherapy, little on ecf vaccination, and very little on dissemination regarding animal immunization. in this paper, the prevalence, control measure, and tolerance of tanzania shorthorn zebu (tshz) cattle to ecf are reviewed. in addition, the opportunities available for reducing the use of acaricides for the benefit of the farmers in terms of reduction of costs of purchasing acaricides ... | 2017 | 28332070 |
| genes encoding two theileria parva antigens recognized by cd8+ t-cells exhibit sequence diversity in south sudanese cattle populations but the majority of alleles are similar to the muguga component of the live vaccine cocktail. | east coast fever (ecf), caused by theileria parva infection, is a frequently fatal disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern africa, and an emerging disease in south sudan. immunization using the infection and treatment method (itm) is increasingly being used for control in countries affected by ecf, but not yet in south sudan. it has been reported that cd8+ t-cell lymphocytes specific for parasitized cells play a central role in the immunity induced by itm and a number of t. parva anti ... | 2017 | 28231338 |
| a pcr-based survey of animal african trypanosomosis and selected piroplasm parasites of cattle and goats in zambia. | we screened cattle and goats from the districts of chama, monze and mumbwa in zambia for animal african trypanosomes, babesia bigemina and theileria parva using pcrs; 38.1% of the samples tested positive for at least one of the parasite species. the most common parasite was trypanosoma vivax (19.8%). its incidence was significantly higher in goats than in cattle, (p<0.05). b. bigemina was found in samples from all the three areas, making it the most widespread of the parasites in zambia. among t ... | 2017 | 27616437 |
| characterization of tabanid flies (diptera: tabanidae) in south africa and zambia and detection of protozoan parasites they are harbouring. | tabanids are haematophagous flies feeding on livestock and wildlife. in the absence of information on the relationship of tabanid flies and protozoan parasites in south africa and zambia, the current study was aimed at characterizing tabanid flies collected in these two countries as well as detecting protozoan parasites they are harbouring. a total of 527 tabanid flies were collected whereby 70·2% were from south africa and 29·8% were from zambia. morphological analysis revealed a total of five ... | 2017 | 28502276 |
| babesia bovis bov57, a theileria parva p67 homolog, is an invasion-related, neutralization-sensitive antigen. | babesia bovis bov57, which is a homolog of the theileria parva vaccine candidate antigen p67, is expressed in both the tick and blood stages of the life cycle of this parasite. however, the vaccine potential of bov57 remained to be investigated. in the present study, we generated recombinant bov57 (rbov57) and prepared polyclonal antibodies against rbov57 in mice and rabbits. indirect immunofluorescence assays conducted with the mouse anti-rbov57 antibody demonstrated that bov57 localized at the ... | 2017 | 28668608 |
| assessment and optimization of theileria parva sporozoite full-length p67 antigen expression in mammalian cells. | delivery of various forms of recombinant theileria parva sporozoite antigen (p67) has been shown to elicit antibody responses in cattle capable of providing protection against east coast fever, the clinical disease caused by t. parva. previous formulations of full-length and shorter recombinant versions of p67 derived from bacteria, insect, and mammalian cell systems are expressed in non-native and highly unstable forms. the stable expression of full-length recombinant p67 in mammalian cells has ... | 2017 | 28800590 |
| sialotranscriptomics of rhipicephalus zambeziensis reveals intricate expression profiles of secretory proteins and suggests tight temporal transcriptional regulation during blood-feeding. | ticks secrete a diverse mixture of secretory proteins into the host to evade its immune response and facilitate blood-feeding, making secretory proteins attractive targets for the production of recombinant anti-tick vaccines. the largely neglected tick species, rhipicephalus zambeziensis, is an efficient vector of theileria parva in southern africa but its available sequence information is limited. next generation sequencing has advanced sequence availability for ticks in recent years and has as ... | 2017 | 28797301 |
| prevalence and risk factors associated with theileria parva infection in cattle in three regions of tanzania. | ticks and tickborne diseases (tbds) are serious constraints to cattle production in tanzania and other tropical and subtropical countries. among the tbds, east coast fever (ecf) is the most important as it causes significant economic losses to the cattle industry in tanzania. however, control of ecf in tanzania has continued to be a challenge due to inadequate epidemiological information. the main objective of this study was to determine the epidemiological situation of theileria parva infection ... | 2017 | 28752214 |
| the control of east coast fever of cattle by live parasite vaccination: a science-to-impact narrative. | there is an increasing interest in determining the impact of vaccine technologies developed using public funding targeted at international development, and understanding the factors and ingredients which contribute to the success and impacts of such vaccines. this paper chronicles the development of a live vaccine against east coast fever, a tick-borne disease of cattle caused by theileria parva. the paper describes the technological innovation, commonly known as infection-and-treatment, which w ... | 2016 | 28616483 |
| approaches to vaccination against theileria parva and theileria annulata. | despite having different cell tropism, the pathogenesis and immunobiology of the diseases caused by theileria parva and theileria annulata are remarkably similar. live vaccines have been available for both parasites for over 40 years, but although they provide strong protection, practical disadvantages have limited their widespread application. efforts to develop alternative vaccines using defined parasite antigens have focused on the sporozoite and intracellular schizont stages of the parasites ... | 2016 | 27647496 |
| in vitro screening of the open-source medicines for malaria venture malaria box reveals novel compounds with profound activities against theileria annulata schizonts. | intracellular schizonts of the apicomplexans theileria annulata and theileria parva immortalize bovine leukocytes and thereby cause fatal diseases. the hydroxynaphthoquinone buparvaquone is currently the only option for the treatment of theileriosis, and resistance development has been reported. it is therefore tempting to investigate the repurposing of compounds effective against related apicomplexan parasites, such as plasmodium here, we present the results of a screen of 400 compounds include ... | 2016 | 26976863 |
| matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry for comprehensive indexing of east african ixodid tick species. | the tick population of africa includes several important genera belonging to the family ixodidae. many of these ticks are vectors of protozoan and rickettsial pathogens including theileria parva that causes east coast fever, a debilitating cattle disease endemic to eastern, central and southern africa. effective surveillance of tick-borne pathogens depends on accurate identification and mapping of their tick vectors. a simple and reproducible technique for rapid and reliable differentiation of l ... | 2016 | 26979606 |
| analyses of mitochondrial genes reveal two sympatric but genetically divergent lineages of rhipicephalus appendiculatus in kenya. | the ixodid tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus transmits the apicomplexan protozoan parasite theileria parva, which causes east coast fever (ecf), the most economically important cattle disease in eastern and southern africa. recent analysis of micro- and minisatellite markers showed an absence of geographical and host-associated genetic sub-structuring amongst field populations of r. appendiculatus in kenya. to assess further the phylogenetic relationships between field and laboratory r. appendic ... | 2016 | 27334334 |
| induction of humoral immune response to multiple recombinant rhipicephalus appendiculatus antigens and their effect on tick feeding success and pathogen transmission. | rhipicephalus appendiculatus is the primary vector of theileria parva, the etiological agent of east coast fever (ecf), a devastating disease of cattle in sub-saharan africa. we hypothesized that a vaccine targeting tick proteins that are involved in attachment and feeding might affect feeding success and possibly reduce tick-borne transmission of t. parva. here we report the evaluation of a multivalent vaccine cocktail of tick antigens for their ability to reduce r. appendiculatus feeding succe ... | 2016 | 27589998 |
| cd8 t-cell responses against the immunodominant theileria parva peptide tp249-59 are composed of two distinct populations specific for overlapping 11-mer and 10-mer epitopes. | immunity against theileria parva is associated with cd8 t-cell responses that exhibit immunodominance, focusing the response against limited numbers of epitopes. as candidates for inclusion in vaccines, characterization of responses against immunodominant epitopes is a key component in novel vaccine development. we have previously demonstrated that the tp249-59 and tp1214-224 epitopes dominate cd8 t-cell responses in bola-a10 and bola-18 mhc i homozygous animals, respectively. in this study, pep ... | 2016 | 27317384 |
| population genetic analysis of theileria parva isolated in cattle and buffaloes in tanzania using minisatellite and microsatellite markers. | a population genetic study of theileria parva was conducted on 103 cattle and 30 buffalo isolates from kibaha, lushoto, njombe districts and selected national parks in tanzania. bovine blood samples were collected from these study areas and categorized into 5 populations; buffalo, cattle which graze close to buffalo, kibaha, lushoto and njombe. samples were tested by nested pcr for t. parva dna and positives were compared for genetic diversity to the t. parva muguga vaccine reference strain, usi ... | 2016 | 27270385 |
| codon adaptation of plastid genes. | codon adaptation is codon usage bias that results from selective pressure to increase the translation efficiency of a gene. codon adaptation has been studied across a wide range of genomes and some early analyses of plastids have shown evidence for codon adaptation in a limited set of highly expressed plastid genes. here we study codon usage bias across all fully sequenced plastid genomes which includes representatives of the rhodophyta, alveolata, cryptophyta, euglenozoa, glaucocystophyceae, rh ... | 2016 | 27196606 |
| host-parasite associations in small mammal communities in semiarid savanna ecosystems of east africa. | despite the established importance of rodents as reservoirs of vector-borne zoonoses in east africa, there is relatively limited information regarding the infestation parameters and host associations of ectoparasites that vector many such pathogens among small mammals in this region. between 2009 and 2013, small mammals were live-trapped in the semiarid savanna of kenya. a subset of these individual hosts, including 20 distinct host taxa, was examined for ectoparasites, which were identified to ... | 2016 | 27113102 |
| investigating the diversity of the 18s ssu rrna hyper-variable region of theileria in cattle and cape buffalo (syncerus caffer) from southern africa using a next generation sequencing approach. | molecular classification and systematics of the theileria is based on the analysis of the 18s rrna gene. reverse line blot or conventional sequencing approaches have disadvantages in the study of 18s rrna diversity and a next-generation 454 sequencing approach was investigated. the 18s rrna gene was amplified using rlb primers coupled to 96 unique sequence identifiers (mids). theileria positive samples from african buffalo (672) and cattle (480) from southern africa were combined in batches of 9 ... | 2016 | 27084674 |
| the emergence of theileria parva in jonglei state, south sudan: confirmation using molecular and serological diagnostic tools. | a cross-sectional survey was carried out in four counties of jonglei state, south sudan, between may and june 2012 to determine the distribution and northern limit of theileria parva, the causative agent of east coast fever in cattle, and its tick vector rhipicephalus appendiculatus, as a prerequisite to the deployment of relevant control strategies. a total of 1636 ticks, 386 serum samples and 399 blood samples were collected from indigenous, apparently healthy, cattle of different age groups. ... | 2016 | 27005905 |
| the biology of theileria parva and control of east coast fever - current status and future trends. | tremendous progress has been made over the last ten years on east coast fever (ecf) research. publication of a reference genome sequence of theileria parva, the causative agent of ecf, has led to a more thorough characterization of the genotypic and antigenic diversity of the pathogen. it also facilitated identification of antigens that are targets of bovine major histocompatibility complex class i restricted cytotoxic t-lymphocytes (ctls), induced by a live parasite-based infection and treatmen ... | 2016 | 26972687 |
| cis regulatory motifs and antisense transcriptional control in the apicomplexan theileria parva. | theileria parva is an intracellular parasite that causes a lymphoproliferative disease in cattle. it does so by inducing cancer-like phenotypes in the host cells it infects, although the molecular and regulatory mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. rnaseq data, and the resulting updated genome annotation now available for this parasite, offer an unprecedented opportunity to characterize the genomic features associated with gene regulation in this species. our previous analyses revealed ... | 2016 | 26896950 |
| sequence diversity between class i mhc loci of african native and introduced bos taurus cattle in theileria parva endemic regions: in silico peptide binding prediction identifies distinct functional clusters. | there is strong evidence that the immunity induced by live vaccination for control of the protozoan parasite theileria parva is mediated by class i mhc-restricted cd8(+) t cells directed against the schizont stage of the parasite that infects bovine lymphocytes. the functional competency of class i mhc genes is dependent on the presence of codons specifying certain critical amino acid residues that line the peptide binding groove. compared with european bos taurus in which class i mhc allelic po ... | 2016 | 26852329 |
| regulation of expression and evolution of genes in plastids of rhodophytic branch. | a novel algorithm and original software were used to cluster all proteins encoded in plastids of 72 species of the rhodophytic branch. the results are publicly available at http://lab6.iitp.ru/ppc/redline72/ in a database that allows fast identification of clusters (protein families) both by a fragment of an amino acid sequence and by a phylogenetic profile of a protein. no such integral clustering with the corresponding functions can be found in the public domain. the putative regulons of the t ... | 2016 | 26840333 |
| production and dose determination of the infection and treatment method (itm) muguga cocktail vaccine used to control east coast fever in cattle. | the infection and treatment method (itm) of vaccination against the apicomplexan parasite theileria parva has been used since the early 1970s and is still the only commercially available vaccine to combat the fatal bovine disease, east coast fever (ecf). the disease is tick-transmitted and results in annual economic losses of at least $300 million per year. while this vaccine technology has been available for over 40 years, few attempts have been made to standardize the production process and ch ... | 2016 | 26698194 |
| population genetic structure of theileria parva field isolates from indigenous cattle populations of uganda. | theileria parva causes east coast fever (ecf) a protozoan infection which manifests as a non-symptomatic syndrome among endemically stable indigenous cattle populations. knowledge of the current genetic diversity and population structure of t. parva is critical for predicting pathogen evolutionary trends to inform development of effective control strategies. in this study the population genetic structure of 78 field isolates of t. parva from indigenous cattle (ankole, n=41 and east african short ... | 2016 | 26613662 |
| multi-locus genotyping reveals absence of genetic structure in field populations of the brown ear tick (rhipicephalus appendiculatus) in kenya. | rhipicephalus appendiculatus is an important tick vector of several pathogens and parasitizes domestic and wild animals across eastern and southern africa. however, its inherent genetic variation and population structure is poorly understood. to investigate whether mammalian host species, geographic separation and resulting reproductive isolation, or a combination of these, define the genetic structure of r. appendiculatus, we analyzed multi-locus genotype data from 392 individuals from 10 geogr ... | 2016 | 26278352 |
| detection of theileria parva in tissues of cattle undergoing severe east coast fever disease show significant parasite dna accumulation in the spleen. | 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 concentrations of t. parva dna are detected in the spleens of cattle undergoing severe disease compared to other organs. | 2016 | 27890079 |
| limited genetic and antigenic diversity within parasite isolates used in a live vaccine against theileria parva. | an infection and treatment protocol is used to vaccinate cattle against theileria parva infection. due to incomplete cross-protection between different parasite isolates, a mixture of three isolates, termed the muguga cocktail, is used for vaccination. while vaccination of cattle in some regions provides high levels of protection, some animals are not protected against challenge with buffalo-derived t. parva. knowledge of the genetic composition of the muguga cocktail vaccine is required to unde ... | 2016 | 27080723 |
| east coast fever caused by theileria parva is characterized by macrophage activation associated with vasculitis and respiratory failure. | respiratory failure and death in east coast fever (ecf), a clinical syndrome of african cattle caused by the apicomplexan parasite theileria parva, has historically been attributed to pulmonary infiltration by infected lymphocytes. however, immunohistochemical staining of tissue from t. parva infected cattle revealed large numbers of cd3- and cd20-negative intralesional mononuclear cells. due to this finding, we hypothesized that macrophages play an important role in theileria parva disease path ... | 2016 | 27195791 |
| absolute quantification of the host-to-parasite dna ratio in theileria parva-infected lymphocyte cell lines. | theileria parva is a tick-transmitted intracellular apicomplexan pathogen of cattle in sub-saharan africa that causes east coast fever (ecf). ecf is an acute fatal disease that kills over one million cattle annually, imposing a tremendous burden on african small-holder cattle farmers. the pathology and level of t. parva infections in its wildlife host, african buffalo (syncerus caffer), and in cattle are distinct. we have developed an absolute quantification method based on quantitative pcr (qpc ... | 2016 | 26930209 |
| the african buffalo parasite theileria. sp. (buffalo) can infect and immortalize cattle leukocytes and encodes divergent orthologues of theileria parva antigen genes. | african cape buffalo (syncerus caffer) is the wildlife reservoir of multiple species within the apicomplexan protozoan genus theileria, including theileria parva which causes east coast fever in cattle. a parasite, which has not yet been formally named, known as theileria sp. (buffalo) has been recognized as a potentially distinct species based on rdna sequence, since 1993. we demonstrate using reverse line blot (rlb) and sequencing of 18s rdna genes, that in an area where buffalo and cattle co- ... | 2015 | 26543804 |
| exposure of vaccinated and naive cattle to natural challenge from buffalo-derived theileria parva. | integrative management of wildlife and livestock requires a clear understanding of the diseases transmitted between the two populations. the tick-borne protozoan parasite theileria parva causes two distinct diseases in cattle, east coast fever and corridor disease, following infection with parasites derived from cattle or buffalo, respectively. in this study, cattle were immunized with a live sporozoite vaccine containing three t. parva isolates (the muguga cocktail), which has been used extensi ... | 2015 | 26005635 |
| co-infections determine patterns of mortality in a population exposed to parasite infection. | many individual hosts are infected with multiple parasite species, and this may increase or decrease the pathogenicity of the infections. this phenomenon is termed heterologous reactivity and is potentially an important determinant of both patterns of morbidity and mortality and of the impact of disease control measures at the population level. using infections with theileria parva (a tick-borne protozoan, related to plasmodium) in indigenous african cattle [where it causes east coast fever (ecf ... | 2015 | 26601143 |
| molecular evolution of a central region containing b cell epitopes in the gene encoding the p67 sporozoite antigen within a field population of theileria parva. | protective immunity induced by the infective sporozoite stage of theileria parva indicates a potential role for antibodies directed against conserved serologically reactive regions of the major sporozoite surface antigen p67 in vaccination to control the parasite. we have examined the allelic variation and determined the extent of b cell epitope polymorphism of the gene encoding p67 among field isolates originating from cattle exposed to infected ticks in the marula area of the rift valley in ce ... | 2015 | 25673078 |
| bola-6*01301 and bola-6*01302, two allelic variants of the a18 haplotype, present the same epitope from the tp1 antigen of theileria parva. | we have recently shown that the bola-a18 variant haplotype (bola-6*01302) is more prevalent than the bola-a18 haplotype (bola-6*01301) in a sample of holstein/friesian cattle in kenya. these mhc class i allelic variants differ by a single amino acid polymorphism (glu97 to leu97) in the peptide-binding groove. we have previously mapped an 11-mer peptide epitope from the theileria parva antigen tp1 (tp1214-224) that is presented by bola-6*01301. crystal structure data indicates that glu97 in the m ... | 2015 | 26139380 |
| incremental effect of natural tick challenge on the infection and treatment method-induced immunity against t. parva in cattle under agro-pastoral systems in northern tanzania. | this study was conducted to assess the incremental effect of natural tick challenge on the infection and treatment method-induced immunity against t. parva under agro-pastoral systems in simanjiro district, northern tanzania. t. parva specific antibody percent positivity and prevalence of t. parva parasites were studied in relation to duration post vaccination and proximity to tarangire national park. a total of 381 cattle were included in this study, of which 127 were unvaccinated and 254 had b ... | 2015 | 26005108 |
| transfection of live, tick derived sporozoites of the protozoan apicomplexan parasite theileria parva. | theileria parva is an important veterinary protozoan causing the tick-borne disease east coast fever. transfection of theileria parasites will facilitate the investigation of many aspects of this apicomplexan infection and its unique host-parasite interaction. the pathogen has the extraordinary capacity of transforming b and t cells into clonally dividing cancerous cell lines in a reversible way. sequence data of the entire t. parva genome are available and in vitro infected cell lines can easil ... | 2015 | 25660425 |
| understanding the basis of parasite strain-restricted immunity to theileria parva. | infection with theileria parva is asymptomatic in african buffalo but results in severe disease in cattle. currently, vaccination relies on infection and treatment, using a mixture of three parasite isolates to overcome the strain specificity of immunity. genotypic analyses of field populations of t. parva indicate a panmictic population structure, reflecting frequent sexual recombination. profound immunodominance of protective cd8 t cell responses, together with polymorphism of the target antig ... | 2015 | 25422856 |
| genetic and antigenic diversity of theileria parva in cattle in eastern and southern zones of tanzania. a study to support control of east coast fever. | this study investigated the genetic and antigenic diversity of theileria parva in cattle from the eastern and southern zones of tanzania. thirty-nine (62%) positive samples were genotyped using 14 mini- and microsatellite markers with coverage of all four t. parva chromosomes. wright's f index (f(st) = 0 × 094) indicated a high level of panmixis. linkage equilibrium was observed in the two zones studied, suggesting existence of a panmyctic population. in addition, sequence analysis of cd8+ t-cel ... | 2015 | 25417727 |
| theileria parva infection seroprevalence and associated risk factors in cattle in machakos county, kenya. | the principle objective of this study was to estimate the infection seroprevalence and identify risk factors associated with theileria parva infection in cattle on smallholder farms in machakos county, kenya. a total of 127 farms were selected by a proportional allocation approach based on the number of farms in four divisions in the county previously selected by stratified random sampling method. subsequently, a total sample of 421 individual animals was randomly selected from the farms. inform ... | 2015 | 25319450 |
| geographic range of vector-borne infections and their vectors: the role of african wildlife. | the role of african wildlife in the occurrence of vector-borne infections in domestic animals has gained renewed interest as emerging and re-emerging infections occur worldwide at an increasing rate. in africa, biodiversity conservation and the expansion of livestock production have increased the risk of transmitting vector-borne infections between wildlife and livestock. the indigenous african pathogens with transboundary potential, such as rift valley fever virus, african horse sickness virus, ... | 2015 | 26470454 |
| theileria-transformed bovine leukocytes have cancer hallmarks. | the genus theileria includes tick-transmitted apicomplexan parasites of ruminants with substantial economic impact in endemic countries. some species, including theileria parva and theileria annulata, infect leukocytes where they induce phenotypes that are shared with some cancers, most notably immortalization, hyperproliferation, and dissemination. despite considerable research into the affected host signaling pathways, the parasite proteins directly responsible for these host phenotypes remain ... | 2015 | 25951781 |
| characterization and annotation of babesia orientalis apicoplast genome. | babesia orientalis is an obligate intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite of the buffalo (bubalus bubalis, linnaeus, 1758) transmitted by the tick rhipicephalus heamaphysaloides. it is the causative agent of water buffalo babesiosis, one of the most important pathogens of water buffalo in central and southern china. as a member of the phylum apicomplexa, b. orientalis possesses a relatively independent and alga originated organelle the apicoplast. apicoplasts in other apicomplexa parasites are invo ... | 2015 | 26474853 |
| the genomes of three stocks comprising the most widely utilized live sporozoite theileria parva vaccine exhibit very different degrees and patterns of sequence divergence. | there are no commercially available vaccines against human protozoan parasitic diseases, despite the success of vaccination-induced long-term protection against infectious diseases. east coast fever, caused by the protist theileria parva, kills one million cattle each year in sub-saharan africa, and contributes significantly to hunger and poverty in the region. a highly effective, live, multi-isolate vaccine against t. parva exists, but its component isolates have not been characterized. here we ... | 2015 | 26403690 |
| molecular detection and characterization of theileria infecting wildebeest (connochaetes taurinus) in the maasai mara national reserve, kenya. | theileria is a genus of tick-borne protozoan that is globally widespread and infects nearly all ungulates in which they cause either latent infection or lethal disease. wild animals are considered reservoir hosts of many species of theileria and their diversity in wildlife species is increasingly becoming of interest. the molecular characterization and identification of theileria infecting wildlife has been studied in a few species including buffalo, which are considered reservoir host for theil ... | 2015 | 26295263 |
| cell-mediated immune responses of cattle to theileria parva. | theileria parva is a protozoan parasite that infects lymphocytes of cattle and african buffalo. as is the case with certain viruses, the parasite causes antigenic changes on the cell surface against which the host mounts cytotoxic t-cell. precise definition of the cells participating in these response and their specificity has been facilitated by the recent identification of markers for bovine t-cell subpopulations and functional analyses of bovine lymphocytes at the clonal level. in this paper ... | 2014 | 25290402 |
| characterization of binding specificities of bovine leucocyte class i molecules: impacts for rational epitope discovery. | the binding of peptides to classical major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i proteins is the single most selective step in antigen presentation. however, the peptide-binding specificity of cattle mhc (bovine leucocyte antigen, bola) class i (bola-i) molecules remains poorly characterized. here, we demonstrate how a combination of high-throughput assays using positional scanning combinatorial peptide libraries, peptide dissociation, and peptide-binding affinity binding measurements can be ... | 2014 | 25186069 |
| identification and sequence characterization of novel theileria genotypes from the waterbuck (kobus defassa) in a theileria parva-endemic area in kenya. | waterbuck (kobus defassa), an ungulate species endemic to the eastern african savannah, is suspected of being a wildlife reservoir for tick-transmitted parasites infective to livestock. waterbuck is infested by large numbers of rhipicephalus appendiculatus, the tick vector for theileria parva, and previous data suggests that the species may be a source of t. parva transmission to cattle. in the present study, a total of 86 cattle and 26 waterbuck blood samples were obtained from marula, a site i ... | 2014 | 24690249 |
| target evaluation of deoxyhypusine synthase from theileria parva the neglected animal parasite and its relationship to plasmodium. | east coast fever (ecf) is a tick-borne disease caused by the parasite theileria parva which infects cattle. in sub-saharan africa it leads to enormous economic costs. after a bite of a tick, sporozoites invade the host lymphocytes and develop into schizonts. at this stage the parasite transforms host lymphocytes resulting in the clonal expansion of infected lymphocytes. animals develop a lymphoma like disorder after infection which is rapidly fatal. hitherto, a few drugs of the quinone type can ... | 2014 | 24909679 |
| mitochondrial genome of babesia orientalis, apicomplexan parasite of water buffalo (bubalus babalis, linnaeus, 1758) endemic in china. | apicomplexan parasites of the genus babesia, theileria and plasmodium are very closely related organisms. interestingly, their mitochondrial (mt) genomes are highly divergent. among babesia, babesia orientalis is a new species recently identified and specifically epidemic to the southern part of china, causing severe disease to water buffalo. however, no information on the mt genome of b. orientalis was available. | 2014 | 24580772 |
| a quantitative reverse-transcriptase pcr assay for the assessment of drug activities against intracellular theileria annulata schizonts. | intracellular schizonts of the apicomplexans theileria annulata and theileria parva immortalize bovine leucocytes thereby causing fatal immunoproliferative diseases. buparvaquone, a hydroxynaphthoquinone related to parvaquone, is the only drug available against theileria. the drug is only effective at the onset of infection and emerging resistance underlines the need for identifying alternative compounds. current drug assays employ monitoring of proliferation of infected cells, with apoptosis of ... | 2014 | 25516828 |
| occurrence of haemoparasites in cattle in monduli district, northern tanzania. | haemoparasite infections are among the most economically important cattle diseases in sub-saharan africa. the present study investigated the occurrence of haemoparasites in 295 indigenous cattle from five villages (mswakini, lake manyara, naitolia, makuyuni and nanja) of the monduli district, a wildlife-domestic animal-human interface area in northern tanzania. the data showed that the overall occurrence of haemoparasites in the sampled cattle was 12.5% (95% ci: 8.7% - 16.3%), involving single a ... | 2014 | 25685864 |
| a proline racemase based pcr for identification of trypanosoma vivax in cattle blood. | a study was conducted to develop a trypanosoma vivax (t. vivax) specific pcr based on the t. vivax proline racemase (tvprac) gene. forward and reverse primers were designed that bind at 764-783 bp and 983-1002 bp of the gene. to assess its specificity, tvprac pcr was conducted on dna extracted from different haemotropic pathogens: t. vivax from nigeria, ethiopia and venezuela, t. congolense savannah type, t. brucei brucei, t. evansi, t. equiperdum, t. theileri, theileria parva, anaplasma margina ... | 2014 | 24416292 |
| collateral benefits of restricted insecticide application for control of african trypanosomiasis on theileria parva in cattle: a randomized controlled trial. | tick and tsetse-borne diseases (ttbds) constrain livestock production in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. of this community of endemic diseases, east coast fever (t. parva) is the most important tick-borne disease (tbd) accounting for 70% of all losses due to tbds in this region where control efforts target either tsetse or tbds and seldom both. in those instances where simultaneous pyrethroid insecticide ttbd control is implemented, collateral benefits of tsetse control on tbd con ... | 2014 | 25199409 |
| tick burden and prevalence of theileria parva infection in tarime zebu cattle in the lake zone of tanzania. | this study was carried out to assess the distribution, abundance of different tick genera and prevalence of theileria parva infection in tarime zebu cattle kept in selected wards of serengeti and tarime districts in mara region. adult ticks were identified and counted from half body parts of 360 animals which were extensively managed in communal land with natural pastures. concurrently, blood samples were collected and thereafter dna extracted and a nested polymerase chain reaction (npcr) was do ... | 2014 | 25092591 |
| use of "one-pot, mix-and-read" peptide-mhc class i tetramers and predictive algorithms to improve detection of cytotoxic t lymphocyte responses in cattle. | peptide-major histocompatibility complex (p-mhc) class i tetramer complexes have facilitated the early detection and functional characterisation of epitope specific cd8+ cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl). here, we report on the generation of seven recombinant bovine leukocyte antigens (bola) and recombinant bovine β2-microglobulin from which p-mhc class i tetramers can be derived in ~48 h. we validated a set of p-mhc class i tetramers against a panel of ctl lines specific to seven epitopes on five d ... | 2014 | 24775445 |
| nkp46+ cd3+ cells: a novel nonconventional t cell subset in cattle exhibiting both nk cell and t cell features. | the nkp46 receptor demonstrates a high degree of lineage specificity, being expressed almost exclusively in nk cells. previous studies have demonstrated nkp46 expression by t cells, but nkp46+ cd3+ cells are rare and almost universally associated with nkp46 acquisition by t cells following stimulation. in this study we demonstrate the existence of a population of nkp46+ cd3+ cells resident in normal bovine pbmcs that includes cells of both the αβ tcr+ and γδ tcr+ lineages and is present at a fre ... | 2014 | 24639352 |
| disease at the wildlife-livestock interface: acaricide use on domestic cattle does not prevent transmission of a tick-borne pathogen with multiple hosts. | several prominent and economically important diseases of livestock in east africa are caused by multi-host pathogens that also infect wildlife species, but management strategies are generally livestock focused and models of these diseases tend to ignore the role of wildlife. we investigate the dynamics of a multi-host tick-borne disease in order to assess the efficacy of tick control from an ecological perspective. we examined the efficacy of a widespread measure of tick control and developed a ... | 2014 | 24315187 |
| geographic distribution of theileria sp. (buffalo) and theileria sp. (bougasvlei) in cape buffalo (syncerus caffer) in southern africa: implications for speciation. | strict control measures apply to movement of buffalo in south africa including testing for theileria parva, the causative agent of corridor disease in cattle. the official test is a real-time hybridization pcr assay that amplifies the 18s rrna v4 hyper-variable region of t. parva, t. sp. (buffalo) and t. sp. (bougasvlei). mixed infections with the latter organisms affect diagnostic sensitivity due to pcr suppression. while the incidence of mixed infections in the corridor disease endemic region ... | 2014 | 24229841 |
| geographic distribution of non-clinical theileria parva infection among indigenous cattle populations in contrasting agro-ecological zones of uganda: implications for control strategies. | non-clinical theileria parva infection among indigenous cattle occurs upon recovery from primary disease during the first year of life. continuous exposure to infection through contaminated tick infestations with absence of clinical disease gives rise to endemic stability. endemic stable populations may become sources of infection if contaminated tick vectors are shared with susceptible exotic cattle. this study aimed at establishing a nationwide distribution of non-clinical t. parva infection a ... | 2014 | 25175844 |
| a longitudinal assessment of the serological response to theileria parva and other tick-borne parasites from birth to one year in a cohort of indigenous calves in western kenya. | tick-borne diseases are a major impediment to improved productivity of livestock in sub-saharan africa. improved control of these diseases would be assisted by detailed epidemiological data. here we used longitudinal, serological data to determine the patterns of exposure to theileria parva, theileria mutans, babesia bigemina and anaplasma marginale from 548 indigenous calves in western kenya. the percentage of calves seropositive for the first three parasites declined from initial high levels d ... | 2014 | 24838078 |
| role of the polymorphic immunodominant molecule in entry of theileria parva sporozoites into bovine lymphocytes. | theileria parva is a tick-transmitted apicomplexan parasite that infects cattle and african buffalo. in cattle, it causes a fatal lymphoproliferative disease called east coast fever. the polymorphic immunodominant molecule (pim) is expressed by two stages of the parasite: the sporozoite, which is inoculated by the tick to infect mammalian lymphocytes, and the schizont, the established intralymphocytic stage. here, we demonstrate that monoclonal antibodies (mab) to pim can reduce the ability of s ... | 2014 | 24549329 |
| prevalence and spatial distribution of theileria parva in cattle under crop-livestock farming systems in tororo district, eastern uganda. | tick-borne diseases (tbds) present a major economic burden to communities across east africa. farmers in east africa must use acaracides to target ticks and prevent transmission of tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, cowdriosis and theileriosis; the major causes of cattle mortality and morbidity. the costs of controlling east coast fever (ecf), caused by theileria parva, in uganda are significant and measures taken to control ticks, to be cost-effective, should take into accoun ... | 2014 | 24589227 |
| parasite co-infections and their impact on survival of indigenous cattle. | in natural populations, individuals may be infected with multiple distinct pathogens at a time. these pathogens may act independently or interact with each other and the host through various mechanisms, with resultant varying outcomes on host health and survival. to study effects of pathogens and their interactions on host survival, we followed 548 zebu cattle during their first year of life, determining their infection and clinical status every 5 weeks. using a combination of clinical signs obs ... | 2014 | 24586220 |
| relationship between burden of infection in ungulate populations and wildlife/livestock interfaces. | in southern african transfrontier conservation areas (tfcas), people, livestock and wildlife share space and resources in semi-arid landscapes. one consequence of the coexistence of wild and domestic herbivores is the risk of pathogen transmission. this risk threatens local livelihoods relying on animal production, public health in the case of zoonoses, national economies in the context of transboundary animal diseases, and the success of integrated conservation and development initiatives. the ... | 2013 | 23442901 |
| high-resolution predictive mapping for rhipicephalus appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) in the horn of africa. | the brown ear tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus, vector of east coast fever (ecf) and related cattle diseases caused by theileria parva has never been reported from the horn of africa. habitat suitability for this tick species was predicted using maxent modelling technique based on r. appendiculatus records in sub-saharan africa. two models were developed: the first is based on the tropical r. appendiculatus distribution and the one is based on the distribution records in the temperate region of ... | 2013 | 23413173 |
| whole-genome sequencing of theileria parva strains provides insight into parasite migration and diversification in the african continent. | the disease caused by the apicomplexan protozoan parasite theileria parva, known as east coast fever or corridor disease, is one of the most serious cattle diseases in eastern, central, and southern africa. we performed whole-genome sequencing of nine t. parva strains, including one of the vaccine strains (kiambu 5), field isolates from zambia, uganda, tanzania, or rwanda, and two buffalo-derived strains. comparison with the reference muguga genome sequence revealed 34 814-121 545 single nucleot ... | 2013 | 23404454 |
| field and laboratory studies on corridor disease (theileria parva infection) in cattle population at the livestock/game interface of uphongolo-mkuze area, south africa. | corridor disease (theileria parva infection in cattle associated with carrier buffaloes) had not been reported to cause serious outbreaks in south africa prior to 1994. in recent years, there has been an increase in the introduction of t. parva-infected buffaloes onto private game parks in northern kwazulu-natal (kzn). the objectives of this study were to investigate the number of t. parva outbreaks in cattle at the livestock/wildlife interface and to establish the possible t. parva carrier stat ... | 2013 | 23333107 |
| seroprevalence of east coast fever in central equatoria state, south sudan. | a cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2005 in different cattle camps in juba, mangalla and terekeka localities of central equatoria state, south sudan. serum samples were collected from 514 cattle of different age groups. samples were analysed using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) with commercially available polymorphic immunodominant molecule (pim) elisa kits. the overall serological prevalence of theileria parva was 70.8% (364/514). the highest rate of prevalence was ... | 2013 | 23277119 |
| identification of hard ticks (acari: ixodidae) and seroprevalence to theileria parva in cattle raised in north kivu province, democratic republic of congo. | this study aimed to identify tick species and to determine their relationship with the theileria parva seroprevalence in cattle raised under an extensive farming system in north kivu province, democratic republic of congo in two agro-ecological zones namely medium (1,000-1,850 m) and high (>1,850 m) altitude. among the 3,215 ticks collected on 482 animals, from february to april 2009, rhipicephalus appendiculatus (64.26 %), the main vector of t. parva, was the most abundant species followed by r ... | 2013 | 23192530 |
| mdm2 regulates a novel form of incomplete neoplastic transformation of theileria parva infected lymphocytes. | our efforts are concerned with identifying features of incomplete malignant transformation caused by non viral pathogens. theileria parva (t. parva) is a tick-transmitted protozoan parasite that can cause a fatal lymphoproliferative disease in cattle. the t. parva-infected lymphocytes display a transformed phenotype and proliferate in culture media like the other tumor cells, however those cells will return to normal after antiprotozoal treatment reflecting the incomplete nature of transformatio ... | 2013 | 22981919 |
| population attributable fractions of farm vector tick (rhipicephalus appendiculatus) presence on theileria parva infection seroprevalence under endemic instability. | the primary objective of this study was to assess the impact of rhipicephalus appendiculatus tick presence (exposure variable) on theileria parva infection seroprevalence (outcome variable) in a group of cattle belonging to a farm using population attributable fractions (paf). the analyses were based on a representative sample of 80 traditional smallholder mixed farms. the farms were selected by first stratifying the population administratively and implementing a multistage random sampling in mb ... | 2013 | 22964105 |
| maternal antibody uptake, duration and influence on survival and growth rate in a cohort of indigenous calves in a smallholder farming system in western kenya. | the passive transfer of antibodies from dams to offspring via colostrum is believed to play an important role in protecting neonatal mammals from infectious disease. the study presented here investigates the uptake of colostrum by 548 calves in western kenya maintained under smallholder farming, an important agricultural system in eastern africa. serum samples collected from the calves and dams at recruitment (within the first week of life) were analysed for the presence of antibodies to four ti ... | 2013 | 23838470 |
| parasite co-infections show synergistic and antagonistic interactions on growth performance of east african zebu cattle under one year. | the co-occurrence of different pathogen species and their simultaneous infection of hosts are common, and may affect host health outcomes. co-infecting pathogens may interact synergistically (harming the host more) or antagonistically (harming the host less) compared with single infections. here we have tested associations of infections and their co-infections with variation in growth rate using a subset of 455 animals of the infectious diseases of east africa livestock (ideal) cohort study surv ... | 2013 | 24001119 |
| design and descriptive epidemiology of the infectious diseases of east african livestock (ideal) project, a longitudinal calf cohort study in western kenya. | there is a widely recognised lack of baseline epidemiological data on the dynamics and impacts of infectious cattle diseases in east africa. the infectious diseases of east african livestock (ideal) project is an epidemiological study of cattle health in western kenya with the aim of providing baseline epidemiological data, investigating the impact of different infections on key responses such as growth, mortality and morbidity, the additive and/or multiplicative effects of co-infections, and th ... | 2013 | 24000820 |
| evaluation of a real-time pcr test for the detection and discrimination of theileria species in the african buffalo (syncerus caffer). | a quantitative real-time pcr (qpcr) assay based on the cox iii gene was evaluated for the simultaneous detection and discrimination of theileria species in buffalo and cattle blood samples from south africa and mozambique using melting curve analysis. the results obtained were compared to those of the reverse line blot (rlb) hybridization assay for the simultaneous detection and differentiation of theileria spp. in mixed infections, and to the 18s rrna qpcr assay results for the specific detecti ... | 2013 | 24146782 |
| sequence variation identified in the 18s rrna gene of theileria mutans and theileria velifera from the african buffalo (syncerus caffer). | the african buffalo (syncerus caffer) is a natural reservoir host for both pathogenic and non-pathogenic theileria species. these often occur naturally as mixed infections in buffalo. although the benign and mildly pathogenic forms do not have any significant economic importance, their presence could complicate the interpretation of diagnostic test results aimed at the specific diagnosis of the pathogenic theileria parva in cattle and buffalo in south africa. the 18s rrna gene has been used as t ... | 2013 | 22940566 |
| lymphocytes and macrophages are infected by theileria equi, but t cells and b cells are not required to establish infection in vivo. | theileria equi has a biphasic life cycle in horses, with a period of intraleukocyte development followed by patent erythrocytic parasitemia that causes acute and sometimes fatal hemolytic disease. unlike theileria spp. that infect cattle (theileria parva and theileria annulata), the intraleukocyte stage (schizont) of theileria equi does not cause uncontrolled host cell proliferation or other significant pathology. nevertheless, schizont-infected leukocytes are of interest because of their potent ... | 2013 | 24116194 |
| a novel candidate vaccine for cytauxzoonosis inferred from comparative apicomplexan genomics. | cytauxzoonosis is an emerging infectious disease of domestic cats (felis catus) caused by the apicomplexan protozoan parasite cytauxzoon felis. the growing epidemic, with its high morbidity and mortality points to the need for a protective vaccine against cytauxzoonosis. unfortunately, the causative agent has yet to be cultured continuously in vitro, rendering traditional vaccine development approaches beyond reach. here we report the use of comparative genomics to computationally and experiment ... | 2013 | 23977000 |
| haemoparasite infection kinetics and the population structure of theileria parva on a single farm in uganda. | the development of sensitive pcr-based species-specific diagnostics and parasite genotyping methods offer the opportunity to provide important and detailed information on the infection dynamics of tick-borne disease. in this study we have exploited such tools to investigate the infection kinetics and parasite diversity within theileria parva in a single farm in uganda. initial analysis of a sample of cattle showed high levels of infection with three theileria species and ehrlichia bovis, with mo ... | 2012 | 23332122 |
| epidemiological perspectives of ticks and tick-borne diseases in south sudan: cross-sectional survey results. | a cross-sectional study was conducted between september and october 2010 in five states of south sudan that were selected on the basis of the perceived risk of tick-borne diseases. the purpose was to investigate epidemiological parameters of tick-borne diseases in south sudan and their uses in future control strategies. a total of 805 calves were assessed by clinical, microscopic and serological examination and tick counts. the indirect enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (elisa) was used to dete ... | 2012 | 23327317 |
| transcriptional profiling of inflammatory cytokine genes in african buffaloes (syncerus caffer) infected with theileria parva. | theileria parva (t. parva) causes east coast fever (ecf), which is of huge economic importance to eastern and southern african countries. in a previous bovine model, inflammatory cytokines were closely associated with disease progression in animals experimentally infected with t. parva. the african cape buffalo (syncerus caffer), the natural reservoir for t. parva, is completely resistant to ecf despite a persistently high parasitaemia following infection with t. parva. characterizing basic immu ... | 2012 | 22854202 |
| micro- and minisatellite-expressed sequence tag (est) markers discriminate between populations of rhipicephalus appendiculatus. | biological differences, including vector competence for the protozoan parasite theileria parva have been reported among populations of rhipicephalus appendiculatus (acari: ixodidae) from different geographic regions. however, the genetic diversity and population structure of this important tick vector remain unknown due to the absence of appropriate genetic markers. here, we describe the development and evaluation of a panel of est micro- and minisatellite markers to characterize the genetic div ... | 2012 | 22789728 |
| immunization of cattle with ra86 impedes rhipicephalus appendiculatus nymphal-to-adult molting. | commercial vaccines based on the tick gut protein bm86 have been successful in controlling the one-host tick rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus and provide heterologous protection against certain other non-target ixodid tick species. this cross protection, however, does not extend to the three-host tick r. appendiculatus, the vector of the protozoan parasite theileria parva. when transmitted to cattle, t. parva causes the often fatal disease east coast fever. here, we used insect cell-expressed ... | 2012 | 22658857 |
| designing bovine t cell vaccines via reverse immunology. | t cell responses contribute to immunity against many intracellular infections. there is, for example, strong evidence that major histocompatibility complex (mhc) class i-restricted cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctls) play an essential role in mediating immunity to east coast fever (ecf), a fatal lymphoproliferative disease of cattle prevalent in sub-saharan africa and caused by theileria parva. to complement the more traditional approaches to ctl antigen identification and vaccine development that we ... | 2012 | 22621863 |
| cytotoxic t lymphocytes from cattle immunized against theileria parva exhibit pronounced cross-reactivity among different strain-specific epitopes of the tp1 antigen. | the protozoan parasite theileria parva causes a usually fatal disease in cattle, known as east coast fever. cattle can be vaccinated by injecting live parasites simultaneously with long acting oxytetracycline (the infection and treatment method, itm). the immunity induced by itm is believed to be mediated by cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctl). although effective, the itm vaccine has disadvantages such as the need for a liquid nitrogen cold chain and a complex production process, which may be overcome ... | 2012 | 22305545 |
| population genetic analysis and sub-structuring of theileria parva in the northern and eastern parts of zambia. | theileriosis, caused by theileria parva, is an economically important disease in africa. it is a major constraint to the development of the livestock industry in some parts of eastern, central and southern africa. in zambia, theileriosis causes losses of up to 10,000 cattle annually. | 2012 | 23146577 |
| high-resolution genotyping and mapping of recombination and gene conversion in the protozoan theileria parva using whole genome sequencing. | theileria parva is a tick-borne protozoan parasite, which causes east coast fever, a disease of cattle in sub-saharan africa. like plasmodium falciparum, the parasite undergoes a transient diploid life-cycle stage in the gut of the arthropod vector, which involves an obligate sexual cycle. as assessed using low-resolution vntr markers, the crossover (co) rate in t. parva is relatively high and has been reported to vary across different regions of the genome; non-crossovers (ncos) and co-associat ... | 2012 | 22998600 |
| epidemiology of east coast fever (theileria parva infection) in kenya: past, present and the future. | in this article, we review the epidemiology of east coast fever (ecf), a tick-borne infection of cattle, in kenya. the major factors associated with epidemiology of ecf include the agro-ecological zone (aez), livestock production system (lps) and both animal breed and age. these factors appear to influence the epidemiology of ecf through structured gradients. we further show that the gradients are dynamically shaped by socio-demographic and environmental processes. for a vector-borne disease who ... | 2012 | 22958352 |
| treatment of cattle with dna-encoded flt3l and gm-csf prior to immunization with theileria parva candidate vaccine antigens induces cd4 and cd8 t cell ifn-? responses but not ctl responses. | theileria parva antigens recognized by cytotoxic t lymphocytes (ctls) are prime vaccine candidates against east coast fever in cattle. a strategy for enhancing induction of parasite-specific t cell responses by increasing recruitment and activation of dendritic cells (dcs) at the immunization site by administration of bovine flt3l and gm-csf prior to inoculation with dna vaccine constructs and mva boost was evaluated. analysis of immune responses showed induction of significant t. parva-specific ... | 2011 | 21288576 |
| construction of a genetic map for theileria parva: identification of hotspots of recombination. | the tick-borne protozoan parasite theileria parva is the causal agent of east coast fever (ecf), a severe lymphoproliferative disease of cattle in eastern, central and southern africa. the life cycle of t. parva is predominantly haploid, with a brief diploid stage occurring in the tick vector that involves meiotic recombination. resolved genetic studies of t. parva are currently constrained by the lack of a genome-wide high-definition genetic map of the parasite. we undertook a genetic cross of ... | 2011 | 21310160 |
| response of nkedi zebu and ankole cattle to tick infestation and natural tick-borne, helminth and trypanosome infections in uganda. | a cross-sectional study was conducted in soroti district of uganda to establish important traits of nkedi zebu and ankole cattle regarding their production performance responses to natural infections of trypanosomes, gastrointestinal nematodes, theileria parva, babesia bigemina, anaplasma marginale and tick infestations. over four visits between october 2006 to august 2007, tick counts were performed and blood, faecal samples and sera were collected from the nkedi zebu (295) and ankole (165) cat ... | 2011 | 21350849 |
| molecular characterization of live theileria parva sporozoite vaccine stabilates reveals extensive genotypic diversity. | the current infection and treatment method of vaccination against east coast fever comprises an inoculation of live theileria parva sporozoites and simultaneous administration of oxytetracycline. immunization with a combination of parasite types has been shown to provide broader protection than inoculation of individual strains. in this study, we used a high-throughput capillary electrophoresis system to determine the genotypic composition of the muguga cocktail, a widely used vaccine stabilate ... | 2011 | 21367527 |
| spatial variation of tick abundance and seroconversion rates of indigenous cattle to anaplasma marginale, babesia bigemina and theileria parva infections in uganda. | tick abundance and seroconversion rates of 640 indigenous cattle in a mixed crop-livestock system in uganda were investigated in a 14 months longitudinal study. up to 100% of the cattle in buyimini, kubo, nanjeho, ojilai and sitengo villages (high tick challenge zone) were consistently infested with rhipicephalus appendiculatus, whereas on average 50% of the cattle in bunghaji, hitunga and magoje villages (low tick challenge zone) were inconsistently infested. likewise, up to 50% of the cattle i ... | 2011 | 21499913 |
| mixed theileria infections in free-ranging buffalo herds: implications for diagnosing theileria parva infections in cape buffalo ( syncerus caffer). | summarybuffalo-adapted theileria parva causes corridor disease in cattle. strict control measures therefore apply to the movement of buffalo in south africa and include mandatory testing of buffalo for the presence of t. parva. the official test is a real-time hybridization pcr assay that amplifies the v4 hypervariable region of the 18s rrna gene of t. parva, t. sp. (buffalo) and t. sp. (bougasvlei). the effect that mixed t. parva and t. sp. (buffalo)-like infections have on accurate t. parva di ... | 2011 | 21524322 |
| tparvadb: a database to support theileria parva vaccine development. | we describe the development of tparvadb, a comprehensive resource to facilitate research towards development of an east coast fever vaccine, by providing an integrated user-friendly database of all genome and related data currently available for theileria parva. tparvadb is based on the generic model organism database (gmod) platform. it contains a complete reference genome sequence, expressed sequence tags (ests), massively parallel signature sequencing (mpss) expression tag data and related in ... | 2011 | 21546359 |
| two theileria parva cd8 t cell antigen genes are more variable in buffalo than cattle parasites, but differ in pattern of sequence diversity. | theileria parva causes an acute fatal disease in cattle, but infections are asymptomatic in the african buffalo (syncerus caffer). cattle can be immunized against the parasite by infection and treatment, but immunity is partially strain specific. available data indicate that cd8(+) t lymphocyte responses mediate protection and, recently, several parasite antigens recognised by cd8(+) t cells have been identified. this study set out to determine the nature and extent of polymorphism in two of the ... | 2011 | 21559495 |
| analyses of genes encoding theileria parva p104 and polymorphic immunodominant molecule (pim) reveal evidence of the presence of cattle-type alleles in the south african t. parva population. | restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of pcr products (pcr-rflp) and sequencing of the variable region of the p104 and pim genes was performed on samples obtained from south african t. parva parasites originating from cattle on farms with suspected theileriosis and from buffalo. p104 and pim pcr-rflp profiles similar to those of the t. parva muguga stock, an isolate that causes ecf in kenya, were obtained from three of seven cattle samples collected on a farm near ladysmith in kwazul ... | 2011 | 21621920 |
| identification of theileria parva and theileria sp. (buffalo) 18s rrna gene sequence variants in the african buffalo (syncerus caffer) in southern africa. | theileria parva is the causative agent of corridor disease in cattle in south africa. the african buffalo (syncerus caffer) is the reservoir host, and, as these animals are important for eco-tourism in south africa, it is compulsory to test and certify them disease free prior to translocation. a t. parva-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (pcr) test based on the small subunit ribosomal rna (18s rrna) gene is one of the tests used for the diagnosis of the parasite in buffalo and cattle ... | 2011 | 21700394 |