Study on infection of Theileria sergenti in neonatal calves

신생 송아지에 있어서 Theileria sergenti 의 감염에 관한 연구

The rate of 67 neonatal calves's infection of Theileria sergenti was investigated in random samples on the farms located in Kyeongki, Chonbuk and Jeju districts of Korea. The criteria used in verifying infection with T sergenti included the detection of parasites by giemsa's stain and acridine orange stain in the blood smear slides. Further evidence of current or previous exposure to T sergenti was based on the demonstration of T sergenti-specific antibody and antigen by the western immunoblot and the indirect immunofluorescence antibody test in the peripheral blood of the calves. The prevalence rates were 35%, 50% and 100% in Kyeongki, Chonbuk and Jeju provinces respectively and the overall prevalence in all the farms was 43.2% by means of acridine orange stain. The parasites that were observed in the peripheral blood of calves was shown surely by the western immunoblot to the characteristic 34KD antigen among the proteins of T sergenti (Korean Isolate). And the antibody of the neonatal calves reacted at the very highest titer(1 : >2,520). These data highlight the significance of T sergenti in the neonatal calf disease in Korea.