Challenge of Theileria parva (Boleni) immunised cattle with selected east African Theileria stocks.

Theileria parva (Boleni) stock from Zimbabwe was used to immunise 24 susceptible Friesian calves by infection and treatment with oxytetracycline. Twenty-eight days after immunisation the animals in groups of 6 plus 2 susceptible controls were subjected to challenge: 3 groups with heterologous stocks and one group with the immunising stock. Theileria parva (Boleni) gave good protection against homologous challenge, the T. parva (Muguga, Kenya) and buffalo-derived T. parva (Serengeti transformed, Tanzania) parasite stocks. It did not protect against the T. parva (Kasoba, Malawi) stock and 3 out of 6 immunised cattle died and the remaining 3 had to be treated with parvaquone. In a second experiment, the 6 T. parva (Boleni) immunised animals which had received homologous challenge, together with the 2 controls which had recovered without treatment from T. parva (Boleni) infection, were challenged with the T. parva (Kasoba) stock. Four out of 6 of the immunised animals resisted the challenge with mild to moderate reactions. The other 2 animals had severe reactions and one died. The 2 control animals which recovered from T. parva (Boleni) infection resisted the T. parva (Kasoba) challenge and both had mild reactions. It is suggested that oxytetracycline used in the first experiment may have interfered with the expression of the full protective capacity against the virulent T. parva (Kasoba) stock. Further studies on the use of the T. parva (Boleni) stock without oxytetracycline treatment could identify a more broadly immunising effect and a more economical vaccination method.

Age resistance to Theileria parva bovis infection in calves.

Data collected in the Zimbabwean province of Mashonaland-West, in the period 1980-1988, showed that mortality in calves owing to Theileria parva bovis infection (January disease) was significantly lower in animals younger than 7 months than in older cattle. Groups of seven Holstein-Friesian calves from non-immune dams aged approximately 1, 4, 7, 10 and 13 months were infected with a Theileria parva bovis tick-derived stabilate. The dose chosen was lethal for 40% of the calves in the trial. Mortality was highest in the 4-month age group. The reactions in the 7-, 10- and 13-month age groups became progressively milder. The reactions in the 1-month old calves were the least marked, being very mild. The age-related resistance in the youngest calves, as can be concluded from our results, is only of short duration and cannot explain the lower incidence of January disease observed in calves in the field.

Immunization of cattle against Theileria parva bovis and their exposure to natural challenge.

Theileria parva bovis isolates were tested for their immunizing capacity under natural field challenge on Willsbridge Farm in the highveld of Zimbabwe. Fifteen susceptible Sussex yearlings were immunized with the Boleni stock and 15 with a mixture of three isolates from the farm, using tick-derived sporozoite stabilates. No chemoprophylaxis was used. A dose of 0.1 ml of stabilate appeared to be safe in preliminary laboratory experiments, but the reactions were severe in the Sussex cattle and one died despite treatment. Twenty-nine immunized animals and 10 controls first experienced a mild infection, starting about 15 days after their arrival at the farm. Ten of the immunized animals and four controls had schizonts in peripheral lymph nodes for variable periods; one third of those had pyrexia. Nymphal Rhipicephalus appendiculatus ticks applied to three of the reacting immunized calves transmitted Theileria taurotragi to two animals and T. parva to a third. A second Theileria infection, due to T. parva bovis, was detected shortly after the first one. Schizonts were detected in seven out of 10 controls. Pyrexia was more severe and prolonged. Two of the controls died of theileriosis. At the same time schizonts were seen in three immune animals and eight of them had short periods of pyrexia. Intercurrent infections with Babesia bigemina, Borrelia theileri and Eperythrozoon were detected and may have contributed to the fever. Tick infestations were low during the exposure. In the second year of exposure, four out of eight new control animals had severe reactions, and one died. None of the immunized animals became ill, but one animal from the first year control group, which had not reacted previously, had clinical theileriosis. It is concluded that immunization provided an effective protection against field challenge.

Immunization of cattle with a Theileria parva bovis stock from Zimbabwe protects against challenge with virulent T.p. parva and T.p. lawrencei stocks from Kenya.

Following inoculation of 34 Bos indicus (Boran) cattle with a Theileria parva bovis (Boleni) stock from Zimbabwe, 18 animals underwent mild theilerial reactions, 12 underwent moderate reactions, three suffered severe reactions and one died. When these animals were subsequently challenged with different virulent stocks of either T.p. parva (Muguga, Marikebuni or Mariakani) or T.p. lawrencei (Ngong 1 or Nanyuki) from Kenya, all except two animals resisted challenge. The two reactors were part of the group challenged with the T.p. parva (Mariakani) stock. All 12 susceptible control animals underwent severe reactions and 11 died. The results of these experiments suggest that T.p. bovis (Boleni) may be used in some situations to immunize cattle against East Coast fever without the need to provide concomitant chemotherapy as in the infection and treatment method of immunization.

Isolation and characterization of bovine Theileria parasites in Zimbabwe.

Theilerial parasites of cattle were isolated by a variety of methods from the Harare area of Zimbabwe. Parasite stocks were established in lymphoid cell cultures and as cryopreserved sporozoite stabilates in the laboratory. Fourteen stocks in culture were characterized by testing them with monoclonal antibodies (MAb) raised against T. parva parva and T. parva lawrencei antigen. Two of these stocks had profiles similar to T. taurotragi isolates from East Africa, the other stocks had profiles similar to T. parva parva, however, many of them failed to bind MAb No. 7, and this may be a distinctive feature for T. parva bovis. Three T. p. bovis stocks were titrated by injecting different doses of the respective stabilates into pairs of cattle. Reactions ranged from severe to inapparent according to the stocks and dose used, but no fatal reactions were recorded, even at the highest dose rate. On recovery, all cattle were given homologous and then heterologous challenge. The results of the latter challenge showed that the Boleni stock gave good cross-protection against challenge with two other Zimbabwean stocks. This stock may therefore be a candidate for immunizing cattle, under field conditions, to protect them against T. p. bovis in Zimbabwe. Non-pathogenic strains of T. p. bovis may be difficult to distinguish from T. taurotragi unless cross-challenge experiments can be conducted and/or MAb profiles have been made. An improved serological test is needed to differentiate antibodies to these parasites in the sera of recovered cattle.