East Coast fever (ECF) is a lymphoproliferative disease caused by the protozoan parasite Theileria parva. It kills about one million cattle annually in Africa. The sporozoite stage of this parasite, harbored in the salivary glands of the tick Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, invades and establishes infection in the bovine lymphocytes during tick feeding. However, little is known about the parasite molecules involved in this  infection process. It is therefore necessary to elucidate the protein composition of the sporozoites to identify novel targets for blocking invasion. Blocking this initial stage of invasion presents a promising vaccine strategy for the control of ECF.

See a poster presented at the recent Keystone Symposia meeting: New approaches to vaccines for human and veterinary tropical diseases:

Download the poster:
Nyagwange, J., Ternette, N., Tijhaar, E., Pelle, R. and Nene, V. 2016. Proteomics of Theileria parva sporozoites. Poster prepared for the Keystone Symposium on New Approaches to Vaccines for Human and Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Cape Town, 22-26 May 2016. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.