| Summary: | Piroplasms infections are tick-borne diseases caused by haemoparasite of the genus Theileria or Babesia. They
have a great impact on livestock production, especially cattle in sub-Saharan countries. However, data on the
prevalence of bovine piroplasms and their genetic diversity are scanty in Cameroon. This study was aimed at
highlight the species composition and determine the prevalence of piroplasms infecting cattle in the Western
Highlands of Cameroon. To achieve this aim, blood samples from a total of 162 cattle were collected and
examined using Reverse Line Blot hybridization (RLB) assay. The amplified hypervariable V4 region of the
18S rRNA gene of bovine piroplasms species, including Theileria parva, T. annulata, T mutans, T. velifera,
T. buffeli/T. orientalis, T. taurotragi, Theileria sp (buffalo), Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. divergens, B. major
and B. occultans was hybridized against species-specific probes. RLB hybridization assay revealed the
presence of four piroplasms species with the overall prevalence of infection of 82.1%. Theileria velifera
(71.6%) was the most prevalent species followed by Theileria mutans (43.21%), Theileria buffeli/T. orientalis
(5.55%) and Babesia bigemina (3.7%). However, the study provided the first molecular evidence for the
presence of T. buffeli/T. orientalis group species in cattle in Cameroon. Higher overall prevalence of infection
of tick-borne pathogens was observed in this study area as well as the increase in prevalence and widespread
of T. velifera and the observance of a new species of piroplasms. These results are an indication that special
attention should be given to epizootiological investigations alongside well-adopted control programs.
|
|---|