Vet World Vol.15 April-2022 Article-14
Research Article
Veterinary World, 15(4): 919-924
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.919-924
Prevalence and risk factors associated with tropical theileriosis in Egyptian dairy cattle
2. Institute of Biodiversity Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, 464 Bearsden Road, Glasgow, G61 1QH, UK.
3. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Toukh 13736, Egypt.
Background and Aim: Theileria annulata is the most prevalent piroplasm infecting cattle across Egypt. Theileriosis is transmitted by ixodid ticks of the genus Hyalomma. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of theileriosis in cattle and their associated risk factors for infection.
Materials and Methods: A total of 570 blood samples were collected from cattle from five governorates (administrative districts) in Egypt and examined using a polymerase chain reaction assay to estimate the prevalence of tropical theileriosis and assess the associated risk factors.
Results: The overall prevalence rate was 16.49%, with the Alexandria district having the highest prevalence. The results revealed that the risk of theileriosis was elevated in older cattle (odds ratio [OR]=8.9, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.6- 21.9), especially in summers (OR=3.07, 95% CI: 1.4-6.3). Cattle heavily infested with ticks were at particular risk (OR=3.05, 95% CI: 2.1-4.5), as were those to which acaricide had not been applied (OR=13.7, 95% CI: 5.6-33.6).
Conclusion: Understanding the risk factors associated with T. annulata infection and regular infection monitoring could reduce infection rates and economic losses and is essential for the implementation of efficient control programs. Keywords: cattle, Egypt, polymerase chain reaction, risk factors, Theileria annulata.
Keywords: cattle, Egypt, polymerase chain reaction, risk factors, Theileria annulata.
How to cite this article: Selim A, Weir W, Khater H (2022) Prevalence and risk factors associated with tropical theileriosis in Egyptian dairy cattle, Veterinary World, 15(4): 919-924.
Received: 24-01-2022 Accepted: 04-03-2022 Published online: 14-04-2022
Corresponding author: Abdelfattah Selim E-mail: abdelfattah.selim@fvtm.bu.edu.eg
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.919-924
Copyright: Selim, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.