Work Packages

This WP will be responsible for the interactions and communications between the members of the consortium and for the updating of the internet page (http://www.theileria.org) and social media via Facebook page and/or Twitter account. An internet discussion forum via social media (Facebook/Twitter etc.) will be created for direct exchange of information and opinion between the members of consortium and registered users. Internet page of the project will be used to publish opinions and comments on research results on the subject matter and online booklets about the outcomes and/or benefits of the project will also be provided on a global scale through the website. Alternatively, in countries having poor access to internet services, stakeholders will also be informed on the outcomes and/or benefits of the project by regional meeting and published booklets/leaflets in naive language of the country. Obtained field experiences will be transferred between the members of the consortium via meetings. Scientific expertise within the project will be available to underpin the production and quality control of any tests adopted for field use.

The co-ordinator will have overall responsibility for the project and will keep regular contact with the members of the consortium on all administrative and scientific matters. The co-ordinator will allocate sufficient time within the project to enable her to successfully undertake the necessary managerial duties. She will have the responsibility to supervise activities of the different work packages and the dissemination of knowledge to the scientific community and decision-makers and to evaluate and assess the progress of the project. Members of the consortium will meet once per year and in the frame of the workshops.

This workpackage will be managed by the involvement of all participants (1-5). Material relating to T. annulata will be collected from cattle in Portugal, Egypt and Algeria by participants 2, 3 and 4. Vector tick material generated by participants 2, 3 and 4 will be used to identify transmitting tick species and determine seasonal activity of ticks in connection with participant 1. A workshop for the identification of tick species will be performed in ADU. Collected tick material will also be used for the work package 3 (WP3). Materials collected from cattle will be used to evaluate the current status of tropical theileriosis in the above mentioned endemic countries. For this purpose, DNA samples will be extracted from collected cattle blood samples and this will then be used to screen for the presence of T. annulata as described previously (Bilgic et al., 2010). All T. annulata positive samples will be genotyped using a total of 23 previously described mini and microsatellite polymorphic markers (Weir et al. 2007; Bilgic et al. 2017) to reveal the current parasite population structure in connection with participants 1 and 5. Also, economic impact of tropical theileriosis on milk and meat production will be determined in endemic African countries and in Portugal by participants 2, 3 and 4 in connection with participant 1. All generated data will then be used to detect / develop country-specific risk factors / region-specific control measures in collaboration with all participants.