Molecular detection of three genotypes of Theileria orientalis in crossbred jersey cattle in Odisha, India

Theileria orientalis is an emerging disease in East Asia and Australasia which causes severe economic losses. The present study was aimed to investigate the presence of three genotypes of T. orientalis (Chitose type 1, Ikeda type 2 and Buffeli type 3) in the blood of crossbred jersey (CBJ) cattle in Odisha, India using the SYBR green-based quantitative PCR (qPCR). Out of 418 samples of examined blood smears, 344 (82.29%) animals were found positive for Theileria species. From 344 samples, 103 samples were further examined by PCR and 72 (69.9%) samples were found positive for T. orientalis. The results of 72 samples examined through qPCR were found positive for T. orientalis genotypes either in single or mixed infection. This study is the first report of the occurrence of three T. orientalis genotypes in CBJ cattle of Odisha with the presence of pathogenic Ikeda and chitose genotypes which can lead to clinical outbreaks.