Volume: 55 Issue: 4
Year: 2024, Page: 762-770, Doi: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2024.55.4.762-770
Received: Sept. 5, 2024 Accepted: Oct. 28, 2024 Published: Dec. 31, 2024
Ticks are obligate haematophagous ectoparasites affecting cattle and act as potential vector for haemoprotozoan
diseases like oriental theileriosis caused by Theileria orientalis, leading to substantial economic losses to the dairy farmers.
This study aimed to assess the prevalence of tick species and to detect T. orientalis and its genotypes in ticks collected
from cattle across north, central and south zones of Kerala, India. A total of 656 ticks were collected and identified as
Haemaphysalis bispinosa (40.1 per cent), Rhipicephalus annulatus (32.16 per cent), R. microplus (18.44 per cent) and
H. intermedia (9.3 per cent). Haemaphysalis bispinosa was the primary tick species infesting cattle in Kerala. Primers
specific to the T. orientalis major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene amplified a 776 bp PCR product in four tick
pools of R. annulatus. Genotype-specific PCR targeting MPSP gene confirmed the Buffeli genotype in one pool and
mixed genotypes (Chitose and Buffeli) in two pools. One positive tick pool failed to amplify with Chitose, Buffeli or Ikeda
genotype specific primers. Furthermore, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of this pool with T. orientalis MPSP gene
sequences revealed close similarity with type 7, belonging to pathogenic Ikeda strain. This study has underscored the
importance of circulation of pathogenic genotypes in Kerala. These findings thus highlighted the need for effective tick
control strategies to mitigate the spread of T. orientalis, particularly in tropical regions like Kerala.
Keywords: Tick-borne pathogens, nucleotide sequence, phylogeny, T. orientalis, R. annulatus
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© 2024 Prathyusha et al. This 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
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Prathyusha, S., Radhika, R., Lakshmanan. B, Syamala, K., Marykutty, T., Justin, K. D., Athira C. P. and Devada,
K. 2024. Molecular detection of Theileria orientalis genotypes in cattle ticks from Kerala, India.
J. Vet. Anim. Sci. 55 (4):762-770