Experimental transmission of Theileria uilenbergi infective for small ruminants by Haemaphysalis longicornis and Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis.

The experimental transmission of a recently designated Theileria uilenbergi pathogenic for sheep and goats in Northern China is described. Haemaphysalis qinghaiensis nymphs and adults developed from larvae and nymphs engorged on sheep infected with T. uilenbergi were able to respectively transmit the latter to sheep. However, when H. longicornis ticks picked up T. uilenbergi either at larval or nymphal, only the subsequent adult could transmit the parasites to sheep, the subsequent nymph could not transmit the parasites to sheep. This experiment suggested that the T. uilenbergi could be transmitted by at least two species of Haemaphysalis sp. ticks, H. longicornis and H. qinghaiensis, and the mode of transmission is stage to stage.