Hematological and Molecular Detection of Theileria Annulata From Thi-Qar Governorate and the Marshes Cattle Isolate

This study aims to investigate Theileria annulata infection in cattle herds in Thi-qar governorate and the Marshes. The 115 blood samples were collected from cattle of different ages and sexes in the Dhi-qar governorate and the marshes in Iraq. Microscopic examination showed that the prevalence of Theileria in cattle was 43.4%, based on the microscopic examination of blood samples stained with Giemsa stain. Analysis of some blood parameters: RBCs, HGBPCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, RDW-CV, RDW-SD, PLT, WBCs, Lymph, and Granulocytes revealed significant differentiation due to Theileria annulata infection. Conventional PCR analysis of blood samples targeting the tams-1 and cox-1 genes revealed 69.56% positivity for T. annulata. The cox-1 gene (1200 bp) and tams-1 gene (441 bp) sequences were deposited in GenBank under accession numbers (LC852773.1, LC852774.1, LC852775.1) and (LC852776.1, LC852777.1, LC852778.1), respectively. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the tams-1 gene of the isolates shared high homology and evolutionary relationships with strains from the Netherlands, Scotland, India, China, South Africa, and Japan, indicating genetic conservation across regions.