East Coast Fever: Further Laboratory Investigations on the Use of Rabbits as Vehicles for Infecting Ticks with Theilerial Piroplasms

Abstract

A series of experiments was carried out in which attempts were made to achieve maximum survival of Theileria parva-infected bovine erythrocytes in inoculated rabbits. By varying the treatment of the rabbits and of the erythrocytes and by altering the route of inoculation, it was finally shown that the best and most consistent results could be obtained by the intravenous inoculation of 20 ml of infected bovine blood into splenectomised rabbits. When nymphal Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks were fed on such rabbits, the resultant adult ticks showed high Theileria parva infection rates in their salivary glands.