title: Molecular Detection of Theileria spp. in Livestock on Five Caribbean Islands.
abstract: Theileria spp. are tick-transmitted, intracellular apicomplexan protozoan parasites infecting a wide range of animals. As there is very limited information on the prevalence of Theileria spp. in the Caribbean we used the recently described genus-specific pan-Theileria FRET-qPCR to identify infected animals in the region and a standard 18S rRNA gene PCR and sequencing to determine the species involved. We found Theileria spp. in 9% of the convenience samples of animals (n = 752) studied from five Caribbean islands. Donkeys (20.0%: 5/25) were most commonly infected, followed by sheep (17.4%, 25/144), cattle (6.8%; 22/325), goats (5.0%; 12/238), and horses (5.0%; 1/20). Six species of Theileria were identified: T. equi (donkeys, cattle, goats, and sheep), Theileria sp. OT3 (sheep and goats), Theileria sp. NG-2013a (cattle), Theileria sp. YW-2014 (donkeys), Theileria sp. B15a (goats), and Babesia vulpes or a closely related organism (sheep and goats). Only T. equi has been previously reported in the Caribbean. Our findings expand the known host ranges of Theileria spp. and the known distribution of the organisms around the world.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
authors.forename: Jilei
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0195-8021
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0866-2717
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-6292-8467
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
authors.forename: Chuanling
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4137-6413
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University College of Veterinary Medicine, Yangzhou, Jiangsu 225009, China.
authors.forename: Chengming
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4937-3946
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017691:Caribbean Region; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats / Q000469:parasitology; D006736:Horses / Q000469:parasitology; D058751:Livestock / Q000469:parasitology*; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics*; D012756:Sheep / Q000469:parasitology; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000469:parasitology; D016794:Theileria / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S