TY - JOUR T1 - Field Evaluation of PCR Assays for the Diagnosis of Tropical Theileriosis in Cattle and Water Buffaloes in Egypt AU - Zhu, X.Q. AU - Monazie, A.M. AU - El-Mekkawy, M.F. AU - Mahmmod, Y.S. AU - El-Balkemy, F.A. AU - Yuan, Z.G. JO - Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances VL - 9 IS - 4 SP - 696 EP - 699 PY - 2010 DA - 2001/08/19 SN - 1680-5593 DO - javaa.2010.696.699 UR - https://makhillpublications.co/view-article.php?doi=javaa.2010.696.699 KW - Theileria annulata KW -tropical theileriosis KW -PCR KW -microscopic examination KW -diagnosis KW -Cattle KW -water buffaloes KW -Egypt AB - The study evaluated the usefulness of specific PCR assays for the diagnosis of tropicaltheileriosis caused by Theileria annulata in Egypt using Microscopic Examination (ME) for comparison. Blood samples from 258 animals comprising both sick and apparently healthy cattle and water buffaloes were examined for the presence of Theileria infection by ME using Giemsa-stained blood smears and the prevalence was 18.6% (48/258). To evaluate the usefulness of PCR assays for the identification Theileria sp. and T. annulata, 30 bovine blood samples selected from the 258 animals were tested by both PCR assays and ME and ME identified 9/30 (30%), whereas the PCR assay for Theileria sp. was more sensitive which identified 21/30 (70%). Of these 21 Theileria positive samples, 15 were identified as infected with T. annulata by specific PCR assay for T. annulata. This study demonstrated that specific PCR assays are more sensitive and accurate for the clinical diagnosis of tropical theileriosis. ER -