A Pathogenic Theilerial Syndrome of Cattle in the Narok District of Kenya

Abstract

Two theilerial parasites, both pathogenic for cattle, which had been isolated during a field trial conducted in Kenya, were studied in the laboratory. One of the parasites was mechanically transmissible and the other tick-transmitted. The sera of two groups of cattle, each infected with one of these parasites, were studied by the indirect fluorescent antibody technique, using both standard Theileria parva and T. mutans antigens and antigens prepared from the infective parasites under study. From the results obtained it was concluded that in the indirect fluorescent antibody test the mechanically transmissible parasite behaved antigenically like T. mutans and the tick-transmitted parasite like T. parva.