A molecular study on Theileria and Babesia in cattle from Isfahan province, Central Iran.

Bovine theileriosis and babesiosis are important hemoprotozoal diseases of cattle in tropical and subtropical regions that lead to economic losses in these animals. From March 2009 to July 2009, 176 blood samples of Holstein and crossbred cattle without any signs of disease were prepared from Isfahan province, Central Iran. The extracted DNA from blood cells were analyzed for members of the genera Theileria and Babesia by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a set of primers derived from the 18s rRNA gene. 42 out of 176 blood samples (23.9 %) were positive for Theileria spp. and none of them was positive for Babesia spp.. The present study showed that Theileria is detectable in cattle without any sign of infection but maintained a persistant sub-clinical state in the carrier cattle, which can serve as reservoirs of infection for ticks and cause natural transmission of the disease.