Epidemiological Situation of Bovine Tropical Theileriosis (Theileria annulata Infection) in the Northwest Tunisia

Abstract

The authors present a cross-sectional survey of clinical cases of tropical theileriosis in the humid region of Bizerte (Northwest Tunisia). A total number of 122 belonging to 107 extensive cattle farms were confirmed positive to two species of piroplasms (Theileria annulata and Babesia spp.) by Giemsa technique. The prevalence of co-infections (T. annulata-Babesia spp.) was 5.7% (7/122). The incidence of clinical cases was unimodal, it lasted from early June to mid-August, with a peak in mid-July. The majority (95/735; 12.92%) of clinical cases were observed in exotic breeds; by comparison, the prevalence among crossbred animals was 3.53% (26/735). In total, 14.42% (106/735) of cattle were recently introduced in the farm. The infection prevalence in cows was 10.2% (75/735) they were more infected by T. annulata than the other cattle categories. This study is the first report description concerning tropical theileriosis in Northwest Tunisia; further studies are needed to better characterize the epidemiology of theileriosis in the humid region of Tunisia.