East Coast Fever

Kubelova, M., Mazancova, J., Siroky, P. 2012. Theileria, Babesia, and Anaplasma detected by PCR in ruminant herds at Bié Province, Angola

• The authors identified several infections in cattle from farms in Angola using PCR. Theileria--the parasite which causes East Coast fever--was targeted using primers for its 18S rRNA. This set of primers amplified species of the genera Theileria and Babesia. To further differentiate, the 18S rRNA was fully sequenced which elucidated genus and species. There are several species of Theileria which can cause different symptoms so it is important to know which species has infected the cattle. The most severe strain, T. parva, was not detected in these samples but another pathogenic strain, T. velifera, was found in the cattle.

Zaeemi, M., Haddadzadeh, H., Khazraiinia, P., Kazemi, B., Bandehpour, M. 2011. Identification of different Theileria species (Theileria lestoquardi, Theileria ovis, and Theileria annulata) in naturally infected sheep using nested PCR–RFLP

• Field samples from sheep in Iran were tested via PCR for Theileria infection. PCR targeted the 18SrRNA gene with a set of nested PCR primers. The length of the product (as determined by running a gel) allowed them to distinguish between Theileria and Babesia infections. For species identification, the products were digested by three restriction enzymes and run on an additional gel. The combination of sizes after digestion was specific to each species. The authors also noted that identification by PCR is more preferable to traditional methods since it is not life cycle stage-specific.

Thekisoe, O.M.M., Rambritch, N.E., Nakao, R. 2010. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assays for detection of Theileria parva infections targeting the PIM and p150 genes

• Two LAMP assays were developed to diagnose East Coast Fever caused by Theileria parva infection. One assay targeted the gene p150 and the other targeted PIM. Both assays had similarly high sensitivity and did not cross-react with any of the other four Theileria species tested. The most significant difference between the assays is in their optimal temperatures. LAMP for p150 is optimized at 63°C and LAMP for PIM is optimized at 60°C. Both run for 1 hour and can be read by looking for turbulence.