ABSTRACT
Ovine theileriosis is an important hemoprotozoal disease of sheep and goats in tropical and subtropical regions which caused high economic loses in the livestock industry. Theileria annulata surface protein (TaSp) was used previously as a tool for serological analysis in livestock. Since the amino acid sequences of TaSp is, at least, in part very conserved in T. annulata, Theileria lestoquardi and Theileria china I and II, it is very important to determine the amino acid sequence of this protein in Theileria ovis as well, to avoid false interpretation of serological data based on this protein in small animal. In the present study, the nucleotide sequence and amino acid sequence of T. ovis surface protein (ToSp) were determined. The comparison of the nucleotide sequence of ToSp showed 96, 96, 99, and 86 % homology to the corresponding nucleotide sequence of TaSp genes by T. annulata, T. China I, T. China II and T. lestoquardi, previously registered in GenBank under accession nos. AJ316260.1, AY274329.1, DQ120058.1, and EF092924.1 respectively. The amino acid sequence analysis showed 95, 81, 98 and 70 % homology to the corresponding amino acid sequence of T. annulata, T chinaI, T china II and T. lestoquardi, registered in GenBank under accession nos. CAC87478.1, AAP36993.1, AAZ30365.1 and AAP36999.11, respectively. Interestingly, in contrast to the C terminus, a significant difference in amino acid sequence in the N teminus of the ToSp protein could be determined compared to the other known corresponding TaSp sequences, which make this region attractive for designing of a suitable tool for serological diagnosis.
Subject(s)
Goat Diseases/parasitology , Protozoan Proteins/isolation & purification , Sheep Diseases/parasitology , Theileria/classification , Theileria/genetics , Theileriasis/diagnosis , Amino Acid Sequence , Animals , Base Sequence , China , Goat Diseases/epidemiology , Goats , Membrane Proteins/genetics , Protozoan Proteins/genetics , Sheep , Sheep Diseases/epidemiology , Theileriasis/parasitologyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The aim of present study was to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) among stray and owned dogs in Kouhsar district of Alborz Province, central Iran. METHODS: The study was performed from March 2011 to July 2011 using Direct Agglutination Test (DAT). Three hundred and thirty seven dogs including 257 stary and 80 owned dogs were selected by random sampling. The agreement between serological data and sex, age, life style of dogs and clinical signs were assessed by Chi-square. RESULTS: DAT showed that from 337 serum samples collected from owned and stray dogs, 12sera (3.6%) were positive. The seroprevalance was 10% (8/80) among owned dogs and 1.6% (4/257) among stray dogs. A significant difference in seroplevalance was seen between owned and stray dogs (P = 0.01). The highest seroprevalence rate (14%) was observed among the ownership dogs of 5 years old and above. Statistical analysis revealed significant relation between seroprelvalence and age (P= 0.02). There was no statistically significant relation between male (6.3%) and female (2.2%) seroprevalence (P= 0.085). CONCLUSION: This survey indicates the importance and necessity of serologic screening of visceral leishmaniasis in human and dogs in Kouhsar district.
