Studies on Theileriidae (Sporozoa) in Tanzania. V. Preliminary experiments on a new method for infecting ticks with Theileria parva and Theileria mutans.

Bovine blood with a high parasitaemia of Theileria mutans was injected through the cuticle into fully engorged nymphs of Amblyomma variegatum which had recently detached from a rabbit. After moulting, they transmitted this parasite to a susceptible calf. Rhipicephalus appendiculatus transmitted Theileria parva in the same way, but results were negative with A. variegatum and T. parva. This method of infecting ticks appears promising for the isolation of Theileria strains from the field, and might be useful in research on theilerioses.