Vet World Vol.16 May-2023 Article-20
Research Article
Veterinary World, 16(5): 1071-1074
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.1071-1074
Parasitological detection of Theileria parasites in livestock in various regions of the Northern Emirates of the United Arab Emirates
2. Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, PO Box 27272, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
3. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, PO Box 27272, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Background and Aim: Theileriosis, caused by tick-borne hemoprotozoans of the genus Theileria, severely impacts the economics of the livestock industry in most tropical and subtropical countries. The aim of the present study was to detect Theileria spp. in domesticated animals (camels, cows, sheep, and goats) using direct microscopy and to determine the infection rate in geographically distinct regions in the northern emirates of the UAE.
Materials and Methods: Blood samples (n = 536) were collected from clinically symptomatic and asymptomatic domesticated animals and subjected to Giemsa staining and examined microscopically for the identification of Theileria.
Results: Smears showed an overall rate of positivity for Theileria spp. in 325/536 (60.6%) animals. Different infection rates were recorded across the various animal groups in the different study areas (Middle region 215/386 [55.7%], East region 100/139 [71.9%]). Of the 11 goat samples collected from the North region, 10 (90%) were positive. Infection rates per animal group based on microscopy were as follows: camels, 3/35 (8.5%); cows, 19/36 (52.7%); goats, 200/303 (66%); and sheep, 103/162 (63.5%). Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmation of all microscopy-positive samples identified 23/325 (7.1%) results as false-positive.
Conclusion: This study clarified that Theileria spp. is present in the Middle (Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain, and Ajman), East, and North regions. This report also confirmed the use of direct microscopy with Giemsa-stained blood films as the method of choice for diagnosing acute infections. Further work is needed to molecularly determine the prevalence and species of Theileria spp. circulating in the different parts of the UAE. Keywords: microscopic examination, Theileria, UAE.
Keywords: microscopic examination, Theileria, UAE.
How to cite this article: Ismaeil SMA, Parambil RKT, Kerab MS, ElBakri AMK, and Abu-Abdoun II (2023) Parasitological detection of
Received: 21-07-2022 Published online: 17-05-2023
Corresponding author: E-mail: aelbakri@sharjah.ac.ae
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1071-1074
Copyright: Ismaeil SMA, 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.