Bouattour A, Darghouth M A, Ben Miled L
Laboratoire d'Entomologie Médicale, Institut Pasteur de Tunis, Tunisia.
Vet Parasitol. 1996 Oct 25;65(3-4):233-45. doi: 10.1016/s0304-4017(96)00951-x.
Seventy-four cattle, from three farms endemic for tropical theileriosis in the north of Tunisia, were studied for tick populations from June 1991 to June 1992. Ticks were removed from cattle twice a month in the summer and every month the rest of the year. They were identified and assessed for Theileria infection. A total of 5083 Hyalomma adult ticks were collected and the major species found was H. detritum (84.3%). The activity of this species is limited between June and August with a peak in numbers observed at the end of June and the beginning of July. Amongst the 2356 Hyalomma ticks dissected, no evidence of salivary gland infection was found in either H. m. marginatum or H. a. excavatum. However, 12.4% (277/2230) of H. d. detritum dissected ticks were infected with Theileria species and amongst these, 62% had one to two sporoblasts in their salivary glands (range 1-91). The prevalence, but not the intensity, of infection was greater in females than in male ticks, and the cases of tropical theileriosis followed the peak of infected females. This suggests that female ticks have a more important role in theileriosis transmission than male ticks. A significantly lower number of adult H. detritum were collected from calves, at their first tick season, than from adult cattle. Finally, this study showed that the infestation level of cattle by H. d. detritum and the prevalence of Theileria-infection in these cattle varied between the three farms studied.
1991年6月至1992年6月，对突尼斯北部三个热带泰勒虫病流行农场的74头牛的蜱虫种群进行了研究。夏季每月从牛身上采集两次蜱虫，其余时间每月采集一次。对蜱虫进行鉴定并评估泰勒虫感染情况。共采集到5083只成年璃眼蜱，发现的主要种类是微小璃眼蜱（84.3%）。该种类的活动在6月至8月间受限，6月底和7月初数量达到峰值。在解剖的2356只璃眼蜱中，边缘璃眼蜱或洞穴璃眼蜱均未发现唾液腺感染的迹象。然而，解剖的微小璃眼蜱中有12.4%（277/2230）感染了泰勒虫属，其中62%的蜱虫唾液腺中有1至2个孢子母细胞（范围为1 - 91）。雌性蜱虫的感染率高于雄性蜱虫，但感染强度并非如此，热带泰勒虫病病例随感染雌性蜱虫数量的峰值出现。这表明雌性蜱虫在泰勒虫病传播中比雄性蜱虫发挥着更重要的作用。在小牛第一个蜱虫季节采集到的成年微小璃眼蜱数量明显低于成年牛。最后，这项研究表明，在所研究的三个农场中，微小璃眼蜱对牛的侵染水平以及这些牛中泰勒虫感染的患病率各不相同。
