Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with <i>Theileria annulata</i> Infection in Two Bovine Portuguese Autochthonous Breeds

Abstract

Tropical Bovine Theileriosis is an important tick-borne disease. This study aims to assess the occurrence of Theileria annulata infection in two indigenous Portuguese cattle breeds. A total of 843 blood samples collected from animals of Alentejana (n = 420) and Mertolenga (n = 423) breeds were analyzed. The detection of Theileria annulata was determined by amplification of a fragment of the merozoite-pyroplasm surface antigen gene with 319 base pairs (bp). The prevalence found (10.8%) is lower than that reported in previous studies (21.3%). A statistically significant difference was found for positivity between breeds (p p p T. annulata control strategies and their implementation, adapted to the epidemiological conditions of higher risk, will be extremely important.

Keywords

• Tropical Bovine Theileriosis
• tick borne diseases
• indigenous Portuguese breeds
• epidemiology
• control strategies