Molecular epidemiology of lumpy skin disease outbreak in Odisha, India.

Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) is the causative agent of lumpy skin disease (LSD) which is a member of Capripoxvirus. It is an economically critical transboundary disease affecting cattle. This study records an LSD outbreak in Ganjam district of Odisha, India during August 2020. The epidemiological data were analysed and LSDV was genetically characterized. Out of the 452 animals clinically examined (59 farms), 63 animals were clinically affected with LSD, with a total morbidity rate of 13.93%. The morbidity rates in the surveyed villages (n = 10) varied from 5.55 to 21.62%. The multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that grazing of animals (P = 0.013; OR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.16-3.57) and age of cows > 3 years old (P = 0.001; OR: 2.90; 95% CI: 1.65- 5.07) were potential risk factors for the presence of LSD. Out of the 53 clinically suspected animals' samples, 18 samples (33.96%) were found positive for both the P32 and F genes of Capripoxvirus by PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of the P32 gene of LSDV (MW147486) showed 100% similarity with other isolates from India, Bangladesh, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis of the F gene of LSDV (MW147485) revealed a similarity of 97.99%, with Odisha India (MT074110) isolate and located in the same cluster with other Indian isolates.

Transplacental transmission of Theileria annulata in cattle confirmed by molecular techniques.

Theileria annulata (T. annulata) is a tick-borne apicomplexan parasite affecting ruminants and causes severe economic loss. The present paper reports the vertical transmission of T. annulata in a three day old crossbred Jersey calf. Molecular diagnosis of tropical theileriosis was done by PCR, cloning, sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of isolated parasites. Calf showed very low hematocrit value (HCT) (17.82%), red blood cells count (RBC) count (6.9 × 106/µL), and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) (6.6 g/dL). Phylogenetic analysis of Tams 1 gene showed that T. annulata Khorda isolate (MW123091) shared 99.23%, 99.23% and 99.11% nucleotide homology with Puri, India (MN818858), Bahrain (AF214797) and Hyderabad, India (MK034702), respectively. This is the first study in Odisha, India to give an insight into the molecular detection, phylogeny and hematological analysis of T. annulata infected crossbred Jersey calf which got the infection through transplacental transmission.

Molecular detection of Theileria annulata infection in cattle by conventional PCR and quantitative real time PCR in India.

Theileria annulata (T. annulata) is a tick-borne apicomplexan parasite that affects bovine. It is endemic in many tropical and subtropics areas, including Odisha, India. The objective of this study is to identify T. annulata infection in the peripheral blood of cattle as a biological sample by conventional PCR (cPCR) and quantitative PCR (qPCR). The phylogenetic analysis was done using the T. annulata merozoite surface antigen (Tams 1) gene. Out of 552 samples of examined blood smears by microscopy, 454 (82.24%) animals were positive for Theileria species. Out of 454 samples, 96 samples were further examined by both cPCR and qPCR, 52 samples (54.16%) were found positive for T. annulata in both PCR methodologies. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that T. annulata Odisha isolate was closely related to T. annulata Uttarakhand, India isolate (KM061799) and Hyderabad, India isolate (MK034702) with Nucleotide sequence identity 95.36%, 95.25%, respectively. This is the first study to detect T. annulata by qPCR in Odisha and supported that both PCR techniques were equally effective for the detection of Tams 1 gene of T. annulata in cattle's blood.

Molecular, epidemiological and haematological evaluation in Theileria orientalis infected cattle from an endemic region in India.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the epidemiological and haematological parameters with simultaneous molecular detection of Theileria orientalis infection of crossbred jersey (CBJ) cattle. Haematological values like mean hemoglobin (Hb) (7.31 ± 2.3 g/dl), packed cell volume (PCV) (21.69 ± 6.11%), red blood cells count (RBCs) (4.40 ± 1.6 M/µl), white blood cells count (WBCs) (6.93 ± 3.06 103/µl) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (33.56 ± 3.51 g/dl) were decreased significantly (p < 0.05), whereas mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (51.06 ± 6.14fl) and eosinophil count (0.39 ± 0.44 103/µl) were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in cattle infected with T. orientalis. Analysis of major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) of 110 blood samples randomly collected from cattle from seven districts by PCR indicated that an average of 70% of cattle was positive for T. orientalis infection. In particular, Puri and Khorda districts were identified as relatively high-risk areas for T. orientalis infection, with infection rates of 76.66% and 72.4%, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis of isolated T. orientalis MPSP gene (MN334767) classified it into type 5. Earlier Indian isolates were classified into three types viz.type 1, type 3 and type 7 and this is the first time to detect type 5 in Odisha, India.