The serological prevalence of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis in the traditional farming sector of six provinces of Zambia was determined using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for babesiosis and the card agglutination test (CAT) for anaplasmosis. Antibodies to Babesia bigemina occurred throughout the country whereas the prevalence of B. bovis followed the distribution of its tick vector Boophilus microplus which is limited to the north-eastern part of the country. Low numbers of B. bovis serologically positive cattle were demonstrated in central and southern Province. Anaplasma spp. occurred throughout Zambia but the overall percentages of positive sera were low ranging between 14.7% and 38.6% using the CAT. Two hundred sera were retested for anaplasmosis using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Sero-prevalence rates were 1.5 to 2.3-fold greater with the ELISA than with the card agglutination test.

Theileria sp. (Bwengwa) of low virulence was isolated by feeding R. appendiculatus ticks collected from the field on a susceptible calf and subsequently transmitted between cattle by R. appendiculatus ticks- Theileria sp. (Bwengwa) was shown to be T. taurotragi on parasitological, clinical and serological grounds. T. taurotragi is the fourth Theileria sp. shown to be present in Zambia.

A trypanosomiasis survey was conducted in South-West Zambia. From a total of 3,346 cattle sampled 342 cattle showed a positive trypanosomiasis parasitaemia. During the survey trypanosome species and PCV values were also recorded. With simple statistical analysis populations with higher and lower prevalence rates were differentiated. The results indicated that the Kwando River Basin Tsetse Fly Belt and the Kafue River Basin Tsetse Fly Belt infested a larger area than originally assumed and that a link-up between both belts occurred or will occur in the near future.

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