Molecular prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of Theileria annulata and Trypanosoma evansi in cattle in Northern Tunisia.

The present study aimed to estimate the molecular prevalence of and infection in cattle in Northern Tunisia. A total number of 96 cattle from five farms were evaluated. and prevalences were 61% [56/66] and 10% [7/13], respectively, at a confidence interval (CI) of 95%, while co-infection was present in 6% [4/8] of the tested animals at a CI of 95%. There was a significant correlation between age and the prevalence of infection, whereas, there was no significant association shown with the age of cattle and infection. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that the Tams1 gene and ITS1 rDNA gene were highly conserved with 97.1-100% and 98.3-100% sequence identity, respectively.