author(s)
Baswaraj Nitture, Vivek R Kasaralikar, Paresh Sharma, SC Halmandge, Srikant Kulkarni and NA Patil

abstract
+Bovine anaplasmosis is one of the most prevalent tick-transmitted diseases of cattle worldwide. The present study was conducted to compare the efficacy of conservative thin blood smear (TBS) examination with molecular diagnosis using PCR for detection of Anaplasmosis. A total of 150 blood samples from all the five talukas of Bidar district were collected from animals having tick infestation and clinical signs suggestive of anaplasmosis namely anorexia, high fever, anaemia, icteric visible mucus membrane, debility and abortion for a period from November 2017 to July 2018. The blood samples were subjected to blood smear examination and PCR assay. A total of 150 DNA samples were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction out of which 42 samples were found positive for Anaplasma marginale suggesting prevalence of 28 per cent. In the present investigation, sensitivity and specificity of thin blood smear examination was 40.47 per cent and 100 per cent as compared to that of the gold standard PCR with sensitivity and specificity of 100 per cent. Cent per cent sensitivity and specificity of PCR proved the superiority of molecular diagnostic test over routine thin blood smear examination.