Molecular evidence of Theileria orientalis infection in cattle from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

There are no data on the distribution of oriental theileriosis in cattle from Bosnia and Herzegovina. For the first time, a possible endemic focus of Theileria orientalis infection was confirmed in specific areas of Pale municipality, Sarajevo-Romanija region, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Selective sampling included 30 cattle from 10 smallholder farms in several locations in Pale municipality. The total of 30 whole blood samples were screened for the presence of piroplasms using commercial PCR. Positive PCR products were sequenced in both directions, the sequences were analyzed and a phylogenetic tree was created. Piroplasm (Babesia/Theileria-specific) DNA fragments were detected in 13/30 examined cattle (43%). At the farm level, PCR-positive animals were identified in 6/10 examined farms (60%). Upon sequence analysis, the species Theileria orientalis was confirmed. This survey reports a high rate of PCR-positive cases of bovine piroplasmosis and provides the first description of Theileria orientalis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Nema podataka o rasprostranjenosti orijentalne teilerioze kod goveda iz Bosne i Hercegovine. Prvi put je potvrđeno moguće endemsko žarište infekcije Theileria orientalis na pojedinim područjima opštine Pale, Sarajevsko-romanijske regije, Bosne i Hercegovine. Selektivnim uzorkovanjem obuhvaćeno je 30 goveda sa 10 malih gazdinstava na nekoliko lokacija u opštini Pale. Ukupno je pregledano 30 uzoraka pune krvi pr na prisustvo piroplazmi pomoću komercijalnog PCR-a. Pozitivni PCR proizvodi su sekvencionirani u oba smera, sekvence su analizirane i formirano je filogenetsko stablo. Fragment DNK piroplazmi (Babesia/Theileria – specifičan) otkriven je kod 13/30 pregledanih goveda (43%). Na nivou farme, PCR pozitivne životinje su identifikovane u 6/10 ispitanih farmi (60%). Analizom sekvence potvrđena je vrsta Theileria orientalis. Ovo istraživanje izveštava o visokoj stopi PCR pozitivnih slučajeva goveđe piroplazmoze i predstavlja prvi opis Theileria orientalis u Bosni i Hercegovini