Theileria parva
Datasheet Types: Pathogen, Invasive species
Abstract
This datasheet on Theileria parva covers Identity, Overview, Distribution, Hosts/Species Affected, Vectors & Intermediate Hosts, Further Information.
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Theileria parva
- Other Scientific Names
- Theileria mutans
- Theileria sergenti
Pictures

Theileria parva
Smear of biopsy material taken from the lymph node draining the site of inoculation of sporozoites, during the early stages of infection with Theileria parva: multinucleate schizont-infected cells entering mitosis prior to cell division and synchronous division of schizonts. The parasites disseminate throughout the host in such clonally replicating infected cells.
The University of Edinburgh

Life cycle of a typical Theileria species
The life cycle of a typical Theileria species, as illustrated by those of T. annulata and T. parva, comprises a cycle of clonal replication of schizonts in mononuclear cells in lymphoid and reticuloendothelial tissues followed by the appearance of 'piroplasms' - small (<3u) and plemorphic organisms - in erythrocytes. T.parva proliferates as schizonts; its piroplasms do not multiply. Schizonts are the major proliferating stage of T. annulata. In infections of T. annulata, at least, elevated parasitaemias arise when erythrocytes are invaded by massive numbers of merozoites produced by large populations of schizonts. Members of the T. orientalis/T. buffeli group proliferates mainly as piroplasms. In every species, piroplasms include parasites undergoing gametogony and producing the gametocytes which are infective for ticks. Differentiation into gametes and sexual recombination occurs in the tick gut. Kinetes developing from zygotes in the gut cells appear to migrate directly to the
Elsevier Science

Theileria parva vector
Brown ear tick (Rhipicephalus appendiculatus) infestation on the ear of a calf.
©The University of Edinburgh

Diagram
Diagrammatic representation of the intra-erythrocytic stages of T. annulata, T. parva and members of the T. orientalis/T. buffeli group. Some forms of piroplasms dominate in certain species: round and oval forms in T annulata; rods in T. parva; rods and elongate forms in T. orientalis/T. buffeli. Veils consist of a haemoglobin derived substance; bars are connected with the parasite and the outside of the cell. Both structures are thought to be of parasite origin. T. parva only produces a veil in Syncerus cafffer. Bars occur in all strains of T. orientalis/T. buffeli; veils are absent in N. American strains and not yet recorded for Chinese or African strains.
Used with permission from Academic Press Ltd.

Three-host tick life history
The role of three-host ticks in the transmission of Theileria spp. and Babesia spp.
Modified with permission of Elsevier Science
Diseases Table
Taxonomic Tree
Systems Affected
Pathogen Characteristics
Theileria parva is a tickborne intracellular protozoan parasite of cattle and buffaloes, which occurs in eastern and southern Africa and causes East Coast fever, corridor disease and Zimbabwe or January disease. In eastern Africa in particular, it causes both mortality and reduced production, and has significant economic impacts as a result.
Epidemiology, taxonomy, life cycle, transmission, population dynamics, diagnosis, control and impact are described by Norval et al. (1992).
T. parva infects and transforms all types of bovine lymphocyte (Morrison et al., 1996). Only the schizonts of T. parva proliferate. The piroplasms are predominantly rod shaped. As reviewed in Norval et al. (1992), T. parva is in origin a parasite of the African buffalo (Syncerus caffer). The parasites isolated from the different diseases (East Coast fever, Corridor disease and Zimbabwe disease) are genetically identical and the variations in morphology, pathogenicity and incidence of T. parva in different geographic regions reflect its extreme antigenic diversity, and variations in host and vector relationships. Immunity to one stock of T. parva may not protect against another. The forms previously known as T. lawrencei and T. bovis are now included in this species (Norval et al., 1992). The tri-nominal system of nomenclature sometimes used for T. parva is biologically invalid and it has been recommended that these parasites should be classified according to the host species from which they originated, e.g. cattle-derived/buffalo-derived (Norval et al., 1992; Lawrence et al., 1994a, b). Genomic research on T. parva has revealed an atypical apicomplexan genome (Nene et al., 2000).
For detailed distribution information, see the Distribution table in the 'Theileria parva infections' datasheet. Updated information on the distribution of theileriosis in general (as distinct from Theileria parva infections in particular) can be found in OIE's WAHID database on disease occurrence: http://www.oie.int/en/links/wahid/.
Distribution Map
Distribution Table
Host Animals
Host animal | Context | Life stages | Production systems |
---|---|---|---|
Bos indicus (zebu) | Domesticated host | ||
Bos taurus (cattle) | Domesticated host | ||
Bubalus bubalis (Asian water buffalo) | |||
Syncerus caffer |
Vectors and Intermediate Hosts
Vector | References | Group | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|
Rhipicephalus appendiculatus | Tick | Botswana Burundi Central Africa Central African Republic Congo Democratic Republic East Africa Kenya Malawi Mozambique Rwanda South Africa Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia | |
Rhipicephalus duttoni | Tick | Angola Congo Democratic Republic | |
Rhipicephalus zambeziensis | Tick | Botswana Central Africa Mozambique Namibia South Africa Southern Africa Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe |
Links to Websites
Name | URL | Comment |
---|---|---|
Consultant | http://www.vet.cornell.edu/consultant/consult.asp |
References
Lawrence JA, de Vos AJ, Irvin AD, 1994. East Coast fever. In: Coetzer JAW, Thomson GR, Tustin RC, Kriek NPJ, eds. Infectious diseases of livestock with special reference to South Africa. Volume 1. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 309-325.
Lawrence JA, de Vos AJ, Irvin AD, 1994. Theileriosis. In: Coetzer JAW, Thomson GR, Tustin RC, Kriek NPJ, eds. Infectious diseases of livestock with special reference to South Africa. Volume 1. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 307-308.
Morrison WI, MacHugh ND, Lalor PA, 1996. Pathogenicity of Theileria parva is influenced by the host cell type infected by the parasite. Infection and Immunity, 64(2):557-562; 27 ref.
Nene V et al., 2000. Theileria parva genomics reveals an atypical apicomplexan genome. International Journal of Parasitology, 30:465-474.
Norval RAI, Perry BD, Young AS, 1992. The epidemiology of theileriosis in Africa. London, UK: Academic Press Limited, xiii + 481 pp.; 61 pp. of ref.
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Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 21 November 2019
Language
English
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