Journal of Veterinary Parasitology

This investigation deals with use of PCR for detection of Trypansoma evansi in Indian dromedary camels using ribosomal DNA amplimers (20-mer sense and 16-mer antisense primer) based on structural 18S and 5.8S ribosomal DNA sequences specific for kinetoplastida taxon. The PCR was first standardized using 5 to 10 ng of T. evansi template DNA and then the assay was extended to blood sample of mouse experimentally infected with T. evansi. After laboratory standardization, the assay was further employed for direct detection of T. evansi DNA in blood samples collected from camels aged 2 to 10 years from surra endemic areas of Rajasthan in India. A total of 10 blood samples were tested and six of them were found positive (60%) reaffirming the suitability of PCR as a sensitive diagnostic tool. Among the pathogens belonging to the kinetoplastida, dromedaries are only susceptible to trypanosome infections and in India they are infected by single species i.e. T. evansi. It is therefore, reasonable to argue that the PCR amplified DNA product from the camel blood using the above rDNA amplimers specifically represent T. evansi.