Detection of Theileria orientalis in mosquito blood meals in the United Kingdom

Theileria spp. are tick-borne protozoan parasites that infect a wide range of wild and domestic animals. In this study, the utility of xenosurveillance of blood-fed specimens of Culiseta annulata for detecting the presence of piroplasms in livestock was investigated. Blood-fed mosquitoes were collected at Elmley National Nature Reserve, Kent, United Kingdom. All specimens were morphologically identified, and DNA barcoding was used to confirm the morphological identification. Both the vertebrate host species and Theileria genome was detected within the bloodmeal by real-time PCR. Sequencing was used to confirm the identity of all amplicons. In total, 105 blood-fed mosquitoes morphologically identified as Cs. annulata were collected. DNA barcoding revealed that 102 specimens were Cs. annulata (99%), while a single specimen was identified as Anopheles messeae. Two specimens could not be identified molecularly due to PCR amplification failure. Blood meal analysis revealed that Cs. annulata fed almost exclusively on cattle at the collection site (n = 100). The application of a pan-piroplasm PCR detected 16 positive samples (15.2%) and sequence analysis of the amplicons demonstrated that the piroplasms present in the blood meal belonged to the Theileria orientalis group. This study demonstrates how xenosurveillance can be applied to detecting pathogens in livestock and confirms the presence of Theileria species in livestock from the United Kingdom.