Report of Theileria luwenshuni and Theileria sp. RSR from cervids in Gansu, China

Abstract

Theileria parasites are important tick-borne pathogens of animals and cause huge economic losses worldwide. Here, we undertook to assess the prevalence of Theileria spp. in cervids in Gansu, China, based on PCR analysis and sequencing of the 18S rRNA genes. Molecular survey showed that Theileria luwenshuni and Theileria sp. RSR were frequently found in Gansu cervids, and the prevalence of T. luwenshuni was 66.7% (n = 9, 6/9) in roe deer in Zhengning County, 58.3% (n = 12, 7/12) in sika deer in Ningxian County, 50% (n = 10, 5/10) in sika deer and 42.9% (n = 14, 6/14) in red deer in Weiyuan County. The prevalence of Theileria sp. RSR was 77.8% (n = 9, 7/9) in roe deer in Zhengning County, 75% (n = 12, 9/12) in sika deer in Ningxian County, 60.0% (n = 10, 6/10) in sika deer, and 50.0% (n = 14, 7/14) in red deer in Weiyuan County. The co-prevalence of the two T. luwenshuni and Theileria sp. RSR was 55.6% (n = 5, 5/9) in roe deer in Zhengning County, 50% (n = 12, 6/12) in sika deer in Ningxian county, 50% (n = 10, 5/10) in sika deer and 35.7% (n = 14, 5/14) in red deer in Weiyuan County, respectively. No other Theileria species was found in these samples. T. luwenshuni and Theileria sp. RSR were detected for the first time in cervids in Gansu, China. Animal experiments showed that four sheep were inoculated with roe deer blood from Zhengning, sika deer blood from Ningxian, sika deer blood, and red deer blood from Weiyuan, respectively, and the Theileria isolated from these inoculated sheep was identified as T. luwenshuni, but Theileria sp. RSR was not detected in these sheep. Our results extend our understanding of the epidemiology of cervine theileriosis in Gansu, China, and will facilitate the implementation of measures to control theileriosis in cervids and small ruminants. This was the first report to demonstrate the occurrence of T. luwenshuni from roe deer, sika deer, and red deer worldwide.

Molecular Survey of Tick-Borne Pathogens Reveals Diversity and Novel Organisms With Veterinary and Public Health Significance in Wildlife From a National Nature Reserve of China

“…To date, infection of T. luwenshuni ( Theileria sp. China 1) was observed in a few Chinese water deer and roe deer from South Korea, roe deer, sika deer, and red deer from China ( 18 , 20 , 21 ), while T. uilenbergi has been detected in red deer, sika deer, and Reeves' muntjac from China ( 5 , 13 ). The present study constitutes the first evidence of T. luwenshuni and T. uilenbergi infections in takins.…”

Migratory Gaddi sheep and goats as potential carriers of Theileria infection: a molecular survey

“…This pathogenic piroplasm was first detected from sheep in China, while investigating the large scale mortality in a flock of small ruminants (Yin et al 2007). Theileria luwenshuni was considered infecting only sheep and goats until it was discovered in wild cervids, cattle and yak of China (Li et al 2015;Qin et al 2016) and sheepdogs of Iran (Gholami et al 2016). Though the species is distributed in almost all the provinces of China, recently, there are reports from various states of India, namely, Karnataka (Mamatha et al 2017), Kerala (Nagaraj et al 2019) and Assam (Begam et al 2019).…”

Experimental infectivity of Theileria luwenshuni and Theileria uilenbergi in Chinese Kunming mice

“…Theileria parasites are transmitted by tick species of the family Ixodidae and cause significant losses to the cattle and sheep industry in endemic areas (Luo and Lu 1997;Aktas 2009;Li et al 2014aLi et al , 2015Lee et al 2016), Mongolian gazelle (Li et al 2014b), hedgehog (Chen et al 2014), cattle, and yak (Qin et al 2016). T. uilenbergi can also infect several cervid species, including sika deer, red deer, and roe deer (Li et al 2014a(Li et al , 2015, as well as cattle, yak, and cattle-yak (unpublished data).…”

“…Theileria parasites are transmitted by tick species of the family Ixodidae and cause significant losses to the cattle and sheep industry in endemic areas (Luo and Lu 1997;Aktas 2009;Li et al 2014aLi et al , 2015Lee et al 2016), Mongolian gazelle (Li et al 2014b), hedgehog (Chen et al 2014), cattle, and yak (Qin et al 2016). T. uilenbergi can also infect several cervid species, including sika deer, red deer, and roe deer (Li et al 2014a(Li et al , 2015, as well as cattle, yak, and cattle-yak (unpublished data). In the 1990s, some studies reported that mice were used for the isolation of Babesia parasites from grazing calves in Japan (Tsuji et al 1995), Theileria annulata schizonts infected severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice (Fell et al 1990), and Theileria sergenti infected SCID mice with bovine erythrocyte transfusion (Tsuji et al 1992).…”