Trypomastogotes of Trypanosoma brucei were detected from 4 asymptomatic kudus (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) on a game ranch located approximately 45 km north east of Lusaka, Zambia. Blood smears examined from 14 wildlife species comprising of the impala (Aepyceros melampus), Kafue lechwe (kobus leche kafuensis), sable antelope (Hippotragus niger), tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), warthog (Phacochoerus aethiopicus), puku (Kobus vardoni), zebra (Equus burchelli), waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), wilderbeest (Connochaetes taurinus), hartebeest (Alcephelus lichtensteini), African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) showed that only the kudu had T. brucei. Although game ranching has emerged to be a successful ex-situ conservation strategy aimed at saving the declining wildlife population in the National Parks, our findings suggest that it has the potential of aiding the re-distribution of animal diseases. Hence, there is a need for augmenting wildlife conservation with disease control strategies aimed at reducing the risk of disease transmission between wildlife and domestic animals.
Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Ruminants/*parasitology ; Trypanosoma brucei brucei/*isolation & purification ; Trypanosomiasis/*diagnosis ; Zambia

The geographical distribution and ecological preferences of Haemaphysalis in domestic animals in Iran were studied 4 times a year from April 2003 to March 2005. A total of 1,622 ixodid tick specimens were collected from 3 different zones. Among them, 108 (6.7%) Haemaphysalis ticks, consisting of 6 species, were identified; H. punctata (3.4%), H. parva (0.5%), H. sulcata (0.6%), H. choldokovskyi (1.7%), H. concinna (0.06%) and Haemaphysalis sp. (0.6%). H. punctata was the most abundant species, whereas H. concinna was the rarest species collected in humid and sub-humid zones on cattle, sheep and goats. H. choldokovskyi was principally collected from sheep and goats grazed in cold mountainous areas. The infested areas consisted of Caspian Sea (Guilan, Mazandaran, Golestan, and central provinces), mountainous (Azarbaiejan, Ardebil, Kohgilouyeh, and Kordestan) and semi-dessert (Khorasan, Semnan, Kerman, Sistan, and Baluchestan) zones. The Caspian Sea zone (23.6%) was the most highly infested region. The results show that various species of Haemaphysalis ticks infest domestic ruminants in Iran and each tick species show characteristic geographical distributions.
Animals ; Camels ; Cattle ; Ecosystem ; Geography ; Goats ; Iran/epidemiology ; Ixodidae/*classification ; Ruminants/*parasitology ; Sheep ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/*veterinary

Species identification using DNA sequences is the basis for DNA taxonomy. In this study, we sequenced the ribosomal large-subunit RNA gene sequences (3,037-3,061 bp) in length of 13 Chinese Theileria stocks that were infective to cattle and sheep. The complete 28S rRNA gene is relatively difficult to amplify and its conserved region is not important for phylogenetic study. Therefore, we selected the D2-D3 region from the complete 28S rRNA sequences for phylogenetic analysis. Our analyses of 28S rRNA gene sequences showed that the 28S rRNA was useful as a phylogenetic marker for analyzing the relationships among Theileria spp. in ruminants. In addition, the D2-D3 region was a short segment that could be used instead of the whole 28S rRNA sequence during the phylogenetic analysis of Theileria, and it may be an ideal DNA barcode.
Animals ; Base Sequence ; China ; DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry/genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Phylogeny ; RNA, Ribosomal, 28S/genetics ; Ruminants ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis, DNA/veterinary ; Theileria/*classification/genetics/isolation & purification ; Theileriasis/*parasitology