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Theileria drug resistance: targeting the mitochondria
Theileria drug resistance is spreading because bovine theileriosis treatment leans on a single drug, buparvaquone. A drug-repurposing screen of the Global Health Priority Box found that rotenone kills Theileria annulata infected cells, keeps working against buparvaquone-resistant cells, and collapses their mitochondrial energy supply. That makes mitochondrial bioenergetics a resistance-independent target for next-generation antiparasitic drugs. Why theileria drug resistance has become a livestock problem Bovine theileriosis is a severe tick-borne disease, and Theileria annulata is the parasite behind it across tropical and subtropical regions. Herds pay for the infection in mortality, reduced milk yield, lost productivity and reproductive impairment. Commercial operations feel it most, because they have no second drug class…
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Theileria in cattle and sheep: survey results and gaps
Theileria in cattle is common enough that the clinical cases are only the visible part of it. A countrywide molecular survey put 34.4 percent of 6,224 cattle and 11.5 percent of 1,467 sheep positive by PCR. Theileria orientalis reached all 17 surveyed provinces, and most carriers looked perfectly normal on the day of sampling. Why subclinical infection is the real problem Theileria is a genus, not a diagnosis. The parasites inside it differ in which ticks carry them, in which hosts they settle, and in how much damage they do once they are established. A herd that looks well will not reveal any of that. Herd decisions usually run on…
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Anaplasma marginale in buffaloes: prevalence and control
Anaplasma marginale in buffaloes infected 16 percent of 250 Nili-Ravi buffaloes screened in Punjab, making it the most common of three tick-borne pathogens tested. Theileriosis and Anaplasma ovis followed at 12 percent and 4.4 percent. None of the usual risk factors predicted infection, and one animal carried all three parasites at once. Why tick-borne pathogens threaten buffalo herds Nili-Ravi buffaloes supply a large share of the milk produced in Punjab and form the economic backbone of many small farms. Their value makes any drop in productivity expensive. Tick-borne infections cut milk yield, slow weight gain, and cause anemia and fever that can spiral into reproductive losses. Three parasites dominate the…
