Molecular Diagnosis of Bovine Anaplasmosis in District Lahore

Bovine anaplasmosis is a tick borne rickettsial disease wide spread in tropical and subtropical areas. A comparative study was conducted to check the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in different age groups of cattle and buffaloes. A total of 160 samples were collected (80 from each) during May-August. Screening was done by blood smears, stained by Giemsa’wright staining technique and later the blood samples from the same animals were also processed by PCR. On the basis of microscopic examination, overall 11.25% (18/160) disease prevalence was recorded. On the basis of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) prevalence of Anaplasma marginale 25.6% (41/160) was recorded, showing the presence of carrier animals in District Lahore. The polymerase chain reaction showed that the prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis is more in cattle 32.5% (26/80) than in buffalo18.75 % (15\80). The results have demonstrated the high efficacy of polymerase chain reaction assay as compare to microscopic examination.